User Reviews

Louis Feuillade's retelling of the Nativity is stale at times, but there's much to admire - not least of which is how he managed to cram so many camels and people onto one tiny set for a scene outside the dastardly Herod's Palace. There was clearly a fair amount of money spent on this movie, which can be seen in the sets and the costumes, but there is very little of interest taking place otherwise. Oh, and three of the four sheep in the opening scene appear to have been glued to the floor...

Louis Feuillade directs this short film -- a one-reeler -- from the perspective of the Magi, searching for the Christ.

Although Feuillade had already shown himself quite capable of working outside the proscenium arch, he emphasizes it here, not just with exterior, but interior masking: notice, if you will, high the broken fence in the first shot and the rocks in the second duplicate the relations of the stage although in smaller masking; it is only with the third shot that he fills the frame.

I venture to say that Feuillade did this deliberately, not simply because he was Gaumont's go-to director, turning out dozens of films a year, but because this was a nativity play, and the audience had already seen plenty of them on the stage and had expectations. If they wanted a stage production, Feuillade would give them one, complete with some very fancy costuming and only slightly-moderated gestures.

Louis Feuillade is probably best known for "Fantomas", but this short film is an even earlier endeavor and has an incredible amount of skill and technical achievement behind it. While nothing special by today's standards, you have to marvel at how much was possible by 1910 -- a mere few years since the invention of the moving picture.

Is this the earliest portrayal of the nativity? Quite possible, though I am far from an expert on religious film. What is most interesting about it is the point of view -- we do not see it from Joseph and Mary's perspectives, but rather from a man who is in search of the newborn savior. This takes out the angelic aspect while keeping the religious content.

We even get some Roman soldiers, which is a nice touch and good use of costumes.

Nativity, The (1910)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

I'm sure most people who would want to check this film out already know of the Nativity Story so there's really no point in going over the plot. This is yet another Feuillade short that I wasn't overly impressed with but at the same time there's something interesting that makes it worth sitting through. The story, if you will, isn't all that special as various groups hear of the birth of a new Messiah so they venture out to see the small child. The story is pretty much told in a very light way as we see a new group. they hear of the birth and then react. This happens a few times so don't expect any grand story telling. What makes this film interesting is more on the visual level and the way the sets were decorated. The opening scenes were shot so well because of how unusual and unique they look. It appears that the sequence was shot crooked and this not only makes you focus in on the sets but also wonder why it was shot this way and if there were perhaps something in the director's mind. I doubt it was shot this way out of accident but as the scene begins to center out you'll notice certain items in the background changing. Each "scene" has its own interesting look but once again this is limited to the sets. The decorations were really eye opening even without any real visual style. This certainly doesn't come as a high recommendation but it is an interesting looking film if nothing else.