Joseph and Mary

Herod is the ruthless King who raises taxes for his extravagant vision. Joseph (Kevin Sorbo) and a pregnant Mary live a simple life and help those in need. They find no room in Jerusalem as they arrive for the census. Their friend Rabbi Elijah is taken with Rebekah who was left a widow after her husband was killed by Herod's tax collector.

The first half is an expanded version of the Nativity of Jesus. I'm not a biblical scholar. I'm not going to get into an argument over any biblical issues. As a movie, the production is a step below. More than anything, the directing is not helping. The second half is young Jesus and that's probably the more controversial. I don't know what to think about it other than it's not necessarily good narrative story telling. It's a series of young Jesus saying familiar biblical phrases and doing Jesus things. That's not a story but it's an interesting religious exercise. The best story comes from Rebekah's quest for revenge. It's better than Elijah's ethical conflict. Maybe if the movie concentrates on Rebekah. She has the biggest struggle and the largest possible character arc. This movie should be Rebekah and Jesus, not Joseph and Mary. Sorbo is doing weak Sorbo things and Mary is barely one dimensional.