YMMV / The Nativity Story

---

• Awesome Music: Mychael Danna's lavish score incorporates both ancient music and traditional Christmas songs without ever sounding trite or cliche.
• Complete Monster: King Herod is the tyrannical and blasphemous ruler of Judea, who ruthlessly taxes his already impoverished people to fund the construction of his own temples and palaces, and orders that anyone who cannot pay have their families forced into slavery or their animals slaughtered. However, he is most concerned with a prophecy that a Messiah will arise from the town of Bethlehem, ordering a census so he may track any men of power returning there, outlawing speak of the prophecy by punishment of crucifixion, and even threatening his own son with death if he does not continue to prove himself useful. When The Three Wise Men tell him that the Messiah they seek is a child, Herod lies and says he is looking for the Messiah too, and that they should return to him after he is found. When the Wise Men do not return, Herod commands that all the children under the age of two in Bethlehem be slaughtered.
• Moment of Awesome and Heartwarming Moments: The entire climax depicting Jesus' birth (which will cause tears of the joyful kind) and the familiar Nativity scene we're all familiar with.
  • After the miraculous birth of John the Baptist to Zechariah and Elizabeth (who was believed to be too old to carry a child safely), Mary witnesses them telling the baby the story of Elijah hearing the Voice of God not as an earthquake or a fire but as a "small, soft voice" and smiles at them while stroking her rounding stomach.
• Retroactive Recognition:
  • Oscar Isaac went on to experience some considerable success in The New '10s, playing the title character in Inside Llewyn Davis, having supporting turns Ex Machina and Drive (2011), and hitting the big time becoming a part of the Star Wars saga as Poe Dameron and the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Moon Knight.
  • Ciarán Hinds would later find himself in Westeros as Mance Rayder, while Alexander Siddig and Keisha Castle-Hughes will show up as Doran Martell and Obara Sand respectively.
• Tearjerker: Gasper's gift, a bittersweet reminder of what Mary's child will go on to do.
  A gift of myrrh...to honor thy sacrifice.

---