This is a special portrayal based on early existence of Mary and Joseph. A young woman, Mary (Fiona Palomo), carrying an unimaginable responsibility. A young man, Joseph (Milo Manheim) torn between love and honor. A story well known and sacred that starts when birth of Jesus is announced to Mary by Angel Gabriel (Lecreae). Mary learns from the angel Gabriel that she will conceive and bear a child called Jesus. When she asks how this can be, since she is a virgin, he tells her that the Holy Spirit would "come upon her" and that "nothing will be impossible with God". She responds: "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word". Meanwhile is also announced future birth of John the Baptist from the old couple Elizabeth and Zechariah. A jealous king, Herod (Antonio Banderas), who will stop at nothing to keep his crown. He is informed by the three wise men: Melchior (Omid Djalili), Gaspar (Rizwan Manji) and Balthazar (Geno Segers) of the birth of a god child. At the time that Mary is due to give birth, she and her husband Joseph travel from their home in Nazareth about 150 kilometres (90 miles) south to Joseph's ancestral home in Bethlehem to register in the census ordered by Herodes the Great . Having found no place for themselves in the inn, Joseph and Mary meet a man who gives the couple a place in his stable. Mary gives birth to Jesus she places the newborn in a manger. Along the way an angel of the Lord visits the shepherds guarding their flocks in nearby fields and brings them "good news of great joy": "to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord." The angel tells them they will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.
This live-action Christmas musical celebration for the entire family, weaves classic Christmas melodies into new pop songs in a music-infused retelling of the timeless story of Mary and Joseph and the birth of Jesus. A unique new entry into the collection of holiday classic movies, this epic Christmas musical is unlike any before it.
This agreeable film focuses the Nativity story in a musical style , but also accompanied with beautiful images, as there are shafts of lights , wonderful skies, attractive dances, extraordinary landscapes and adding some hilarious touches. This live-action Christmas musical adventure for the entire family weaves classic Christmas melodies with humor, faith, and new pop songs in a retelling of the greatest story ever told: the story of Mary and Joseph and the birth of Jesus. Banderas is an evil and singing King Herod in this musical that tells the story of Mary, Joseph and the ship of Jesus in a way that is as traditional as it is modern. However, there are some novelties, here Maria wants to be a teacher, like her father, but in reality in the land of Judah during the time of Caesar Augustus, women can only be wives and mothers. Furthermore, they will not even marry for love, but rather that they have chosen her husband.
Here Antonio Banderas stands out, although sometimes he overacts, and giving an exaggeratedly sympathetic and overly gestural performance as the villain of the show like Herod, who is unconsciously warned by the three wise men, he plans his revenge and the cruel slaughter of the innocent babies. With many songs, and also a lot of humor and a little drama, the film gives a twist to the most important traditional religious story in universal culture. The film turns out to be mediocre with excessive songs and dances regularly staged, without much splendor. And in the foreign versions the dubbing is frankly terrible in such a way that it does not coincide at all with what they speak or sing.
Instead of this uneven film I would recommend another better film dealing with the same sacred facts, and that it was even authorized by the Vatican and seen by Pope John Paul II himself : ¨The Nativity Story¨ (2006) by Catherine Hardwicke with Keisha Castle-Hughes as Mary and Oscar Isaac as Joseph.
Something to highlight would be the colorful cinematography from cameraman Xavi Giménez, who has photographed notorious films such as: Red Lights, Libertador, Agora, Marrowbone, Transsiberian , Contratiempo, Palmeras en la nieve, The Machinist and Intacto. Shot in the Almeria outdoors and specifically in El Chorrillo, Pechina, Playa de Monsul, Cabo de Gata, Almería, Castillo de Santa Bárbara, Alicante, Comunidad Valenciana, Spain, all of them giving the impression of the typical landscape stereotypes of Palestine. The motion picture was mediocrely written/produced/directed by Adam Anders (The Prom (2020), Kally's Mashup (2017) and La era del Rock of ages (2012)) and he even composed the music too. Rating: 5.5/10. Average but passable and acceptable.
