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The Nativity Story | 2006 | PG | - 2.4.0

The story of the events leading up to the birth of Jesus of Nazareth: The story follows the two-year period when Mary and Joseph left Nazareth, journeying to Bethlehem to give birth. With Keisha Castle-Hughes, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Oscar Isaac, Ciaran Hinds and Shaun Toub. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke, Harvey Harrison & Andy Lumsden. [1:41]

SEX/NUDITY 2 - A man (who is referred to as an angel) tells a young woman that she will conceive a child that will be the son of God (she's newly married and the custom is not to have marital relations for a period of a year).
 A man (who is referred to as an angel) tells a man that his wife will become pregnant and deliver a son, although the woman is apparently past the age of childbearing.
 A husband and wife hold hands, and she touches his face and he kisses her hand.
 Young men and young women chase each other flirtatiously.
 A man arranges for his daughter to marry a man (she does not love him and does not wish to marry him). A man admires a young woman (the man appears slightly older than she is).
 We see a newborn baby's bare buttocks and back. Boys swim bare-chested.

VIOLENCE/GORE 4 - We see several men with bloody wounds lashed to trees, and one man looks as if part of his arm is missing (they appear to be dead).
 A man circumcises a baby (the baby screams and two boys who watch the process appear squeamish).
 Children are rousted out of their homes and murdered by soldiers with swords (we hear screaming and the slashing of metal, and see what looks like one child being struck); we also see one small body lying limp on the ground.
 We see several men after having been crucified, hanging from wooden crosses with their loved ones grieving nearby.
 A cow is sacrificed: a man raises a sword to its neck and brings it down (we do not see anything but we hear a crunch).
 A snake swims toward a donkey carrying a woman on its back through a river, the donkey rears back throwing the woman into the water, and she is grabbed by a man before washing away.
 A woman goes into labor, she screams and appears to be in pain, and she delivers the baby (we see a bit of goo on the baby's back and buttocks). A woman screams during labor.
 Soldiers are ordered to ride into a city and kill all boys under the age of two. A man has a nightmare about his wife being stoned in the street (we do not see her being stoned) and he wakes up in a panic.
 A man threatens to kill his son if he "fails him." A mother tells her daughter that she "could be stoned" (for being pregnant with a child who is not her husband's).
 Two men on horseback are chased by several other men on horseback. Men on horseback ride through a village collecting taxes (villagers are frightened) and a young woman is taken from her home to work off her father's debt.
 Several people see a man (referred to as an angel) who gives them messages that he says are from God, instructing them to do certain things (typically things that are outside of normal behavior for them).
 People are shown picking meat off a bone. Men skin animals in a market place (we see the skin being pulled back and red tissue is visible). A man guts a fish.

LANGUAGE 0 - None.

SUBSTANCE USE - People are shown drinking wine.

DISCUSSION TOPICS - Christianity, the Roman Empire, treason, rebellion, census taking, holy spirit, angels, prophecies, greed, loyalty, paranoia, suspicion, distrust, sacrifice, myths, dissension, hope, faith, honor, virtue, mercy.

MESSAGE - Faith can help one survive extraordinary circumstances.

CAVEATS

Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.

We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.

Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.


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