Journey to Bethlehem movie review

MOVIE TITLE: Journey to Bethlehem

This lovely film premieres exclusively in theaters. No platform streaming has been announced yet.

RATING: PG

LENGTH: 1 hour 38 minutes

MOVIE REVIEW MOM GRADE: A

IN A NUTSHELL:

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.

This is directed and written by Adam Anders with the help of Peter Barsocchini.

THINGS I LIKED:

If you’re Christian, you’ve probably read the Bible and heard this story many times, evoking specific images in your mind of how everything actually happened. Woke Hollywood and American perspectives definitely take over the production. It doesn’t claim to be an authentic representation, so I won’t be too critical.
Because we’ve already had so many other versions of the nativity story in film, I love that this was a musical. The original zippy musical numbers are really good and appropriately fit the time period without looking like Broadway numbers. The director, Adam Anders shared that his favorite song from the film is “Mother to a Savior and King.” That’s such a touching one.
I had the great pleasure of going to Israel last spring, walking where Jesus walked, and visiting places like Bethlehem and Nazareth. The terrain and locations gave me so many insights that I’ve begun writing a book about it! Surprisingly, this movie was filmed on the coast of Spain. I lived in Spain for a couple of years, so I’m always happy to see that lovely country too!
I adore Antonio Banderas and thought he was great, as always.
The actress who played Mary, Fiona Palomo, is very sweet and truly looks the part. She has a lovely voice too.
Joseph is played by Milo Manheim who looks great with Fiona Palomo. Their duets together are beautiful.
The entire cast is excellent and includes Lecrae, Moriah, Joel Smallbone, Omid Djalili, Geno Segers, Rizwan Manji, Antonio Gil, and more.
The costume design is simple but perfectly effective. I’m glad they decided not to go over the top to match the pop music style.
There is a balanced amount of both visual and spoken humor.
Every year, there is a slew of new Christmas movies, but most of them are about believing in Santa Claus. It’s refreshing to have a new one about the true reason for the season: Jesus Christ.
Because the movie is so family-friendly, viewing this could become an annual tradition for many families who want a lighter, fun-filled version of this eternally important joyful story. Merry CHRISTmas!

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

It bothered me that Mary and Joseph began fighting only minutes after meeting. I wanted to see more sweet moments of them learning to love each other.
I always pictured Mary as very humble, faithful, and obedient. She’s pretty feisty, especially with all of the male figures in her life in this movie.
Black Gabriel? Some viewers might be bothered by that. I loved his gold-touched lips and piercing blue eyes.
I wanted to see Joseph have a confirming experience of the annunciation with Gabriel, but it was super short and kind of odd.
There are a lot of musical numbers in Acts 1 & 2; however, they noticeably slow down in Act 3. It would have been lovely to have one more toward the end of the movie.
There are definitely some historical and biblical inaccuracies. For example, Joseph and Mary would not have made that long 90-mile trip to Bethlehem alone. Because of the dangers of travel back then, people traveled in groups, especially during the seasons of the census. While there are many more inaccuracies, it’s important to focus more on the message of the birth of the Savior and its importance to the world than missed details in the story. At the very end of the movie, we read these words on the big screen: “While taking some creative license, the filmmakers strived to remain true to the message of the greatest story ever told.”
The movie contrasts different kinds of love: a romance between a betrothed man and a woman, a narcissistic king’s love of his throne, and God’s love for the world by gifting us with His son.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

No profanity.
Watching this with your kids can be a terrific opportunity to discuss the events of this Bible story to determine what is a Hollywood representation and what is actually based on the scriptural telling of the account.
Talk of a young girl getting pregnant out of wedlock, which puts her at risk of being stoned to death.
Joseph is seen in an imaginary battle.
Talk of killing babies.
Talk of poor hygiene.

THEMES:

The birth of Jesus Christ (the nativity story)
Obedience and faith in God
Truth
Faith
Hope
Trust
Marriage

INTERESTING LINES:

* “If my husband could talk, he would say, ‘Patience is a good companion for faith.'” – Elizabeth (I couldn’t find the actress’s name on the cast list)