Nativity Story, The

Aroview: Not the greatest telling of the 'greatest story ever told' but it does nicely as a festive family film, with the casting of WHALE RIDER's Keisha Castle-Hughes as the Virgin Mary a bonus for Kiwi audiences.

As directed by former production designer Hardwicke (who impressively debuted with gritty teen drama THIRTEEN), this is suprisingly safe and sincere, rather like a Christmas card come to life. Ciarán Hinds adds spark, however, as the paranoid and menacing King Herod, who resorts to barbarism to protect his throne from the perceived threat of a Jewish messiah.