In recent years, faith-based movies have seen a revival in both artistic quality and commercial success, as seen with box-office hits like “Jesus Revolution” and “I Can Only Imagine.” Generally, the standard for these films remains modest, as the historically underserved Christian community is excited to support movies that respectfully represent their faith and can be enjoyed by the whole family.
The Christmas film “Journey to Bethlehem,” from Sony’s Affirm Films, the company behind “Big George Foreman” and “War Room,” was one of the most hotly-anticipated faith-based movies of 2023. With an impressive cast that includes Antonio Banderas, it promises to be a Nativity film like no other, a crossover of modern musical elements and a crossover of biblical narrative. However, despite its catchy tunes and flashy imagery, “Journey to Bethlehem” makes a critical mistake: it prioritizes entertainment value over theological accuracy and struggles to balance its contemporary take with the essence of the most extraordinary biblical story ever told.
Released in November, the film is directed and co-written by Adam Anders, the executive music producer for Glee and co-written by Peter Barsocchini, who wrote the scripts for the High School Musical movies. It includes romance, family drama, and elaborate song and dance sequences, aiming to be a family-friendly Christmas musical. The film’s cast features Lecrae as the angel Gabriel, Joel Smallbone from For King & Country and his wife, singer Moriah.
The movie notably departs from the biblical narrative in the opening minutes: Mary, played by Fiona Palomo, is angry at her father because he’s insisting she marry an unknown man when all she wants to do is become a teacher. Though upset about her arranged marriage, she makes it apparent to a young man who attempts to flirt with her at the market that she’s betrothed. The man continues to flirt with her, and he even buys her a fig, which she throws in his face.
It turns out that the flirt is Joseph, something Mary finds out upon meeting him at their wedding. Angry that her betrothed flirted with a female stranger, Mary runs away from the wedding ceremony, pursued by Joseph. What follows is a rousing song-and-dance duet, “Can We Make This Work.” Other examples of concerning deviations from Scripture include the overall silliness of the three Wise Men, which are used as comic relief throughout the film, and the flippant treatment the Angel Gabriel is given.
“Journey to Bethlehem” also opts for a lighter overall narrative, notably omitting the harsher aspects of the Nativity story, such as Herod’s massacre of the innocents. Herod is depicted as a cartoonish villain, with one of the catchiest song-and-dance numbers in the movie: “Mine is the kingdom! Mine is the power! Mine is the glory forever more!” he sings. In a particularly unfortunate deviation from Scripture, in the end, it’s Herod’s son, Antipater (Smallbone), who lets Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus go after discovering them in the stable, despite his father’s orders.
Anders, a professing Christian, said he sought divine guidance on when to stay true to Scripture and when to fill in the gaps with imagination. He said, “I wanted people to know the filmmaker believes this is true. So watching it from that point of view is really important for me. But I look at all the great paintings that the great artists have done throughout the history of the Nativity scene that are not biblically accurate, but we’ve accepted it as beautiful, and it’s their artistic interpretation, it’s symbolism. And I felt like, if they could have that creative license, then at times I could as well.”
“Journey to Bethlehem” does make a valiant effort to drive home the beauty of the Nativity story: Jesus Christ came to Earth to save broken and lost souls in need of a Savior.