the nativity story

Director: catherine hardwicke

Actor: keisha castle-hughes,shohreh aghdashloo,oscar isaac,hiam abbass

Data Published: Thu Nov 30 2006

Genres: Adventure,Drama,Family,Fantasy,History,Romance

Key Words: palestine,nazareth israel,star,f rated,bethlehem

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0762121/

WIKI: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nativity_Story

Description: The Nativity Story is a movie starring Keisha Castle-Hughes, Shohreh Aghdashloo, and Oscar Isaac. A drama that focuses on the period in Mary and Joseph's life where they journeyed to Bethlehem for the birth of Jesus.

Plot: Set in the year 5 .B.C. The story begins with the portrayal of the Massacre of the Innocents in the Nativity. The remainder of the film portrays the annunciation (conception) and birth of Jesus Christ to explain why King Herod the Great (Ciarán Hinds) ordered the murder. One year before the massacre, Zachariah (Stanley Townsend), a rabbi in Jerusalem, is making an offering, when he is told in a vision by the Archangel Gabriel that his wife, Elizabeth (Shohreh Aghdashloo), will bear a son. Zachariah does not believe him, stating that he is too old, and Gabriel tells him that he will be unable to speak until the boy is born. In Nazareth, 12 year old Mary (Keisha Castle-Hughes) is farming when soldiers come to collect taxes. One man, unable to pay, has a third of his land seized and his daughter pressed into debt slavery. Mary, betrothed to marry Joseph of Judaea (Oscar Isaac), is visited by Archangel Gabriel and told that she will become pregnant with God's son, whom she is to name "Jesus". He tells her that God has blessed her cousin Elizabeth with a child despite her old age. Mary visits her before the harvest, where she witnesses the birth of John the Baptist to Elizabeth and Zechariah, who regains his speech. Mary returns from the visit pregnant, to the shock of Joseph and her parents, who fear that Joseph will accuse her of fornication, a sin punishable with death by stoning according to the Torah. At first Joseph does not believe Mary's religious explanation, but decides not to accuse her. Still shocked and angry, Joseph is later visited in a dream by the Archangel Gabriel, who tells him of God's plan for Mary's son. Finally believing, he is ashamed of his earlier doubts. Meanwhile, Roman emperor Caesar Augustus has demanded that every man and his family across the Roman Empire return to his place of birth for the census. A direct descendant of King David, Joseph is forced to travel 110 kilometers (68 mi) across Palestine's rocky terrain from Nazareth to Bethlehem, the place of his birth. With Mary on a donkey laden with supplies, it takes the couple nearly four weeks to reach Bethlehem. Upon arriving in town, Mary goes into labour, and Joseph frantically seeks a place for her to deliver. There is, however, no room in any inn or home because of the crowds arriving for the census, but at the last minute an innkeeper offers his stable for shelter. Meanwhile, three Magi—Gaspar, Melchior and Balthasar—travel towards Judaea after having previously discovered that three planets will align to form a great star. This Star of Bethlehem appears before the Magi, after a visit by the Archangel Gabriel. The Magi visit Herod and reveal to him that the Messiah is still a child and he will be a Messiah "for the lowest of men to the highest of kings." Shocked by this, Herod asks that they visit the newborn Messiah and report the child's location back to him, under the pretence that he, too, would like to worship him, while in fact he plans to kill the baby for fear of a new king taking his throne. The Magi arrive at the stable where Mary is giving birth to Jesus, and they present the Infant with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Suspicious of his intentions, the Magi avoid Herod, returning home via a different route. Herod realises that the Magi have tricked him and orders the death of every boy in Bethlehem under the age of two. Joseph is warned in a dream of the danger and flees to Egypt with Mary and Jesus as the film ends.