Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)This is a fine film on St. Joseph, one I have watched a few times now, and its clear to me that the previous very negative anonymous reviewer named "Customer" has either some kind of ax to grind, or simply does not have a clue about who St. Joseph really was, or what the Church & Scripture teach about him and his relationship to Our Lady.
I am a Catholic and I approached this film very critically as I have a strong devotion to and deep respect for St. Joseph. I was surprisingly pleased to see a wonderfully manly and noble performance by actor Tobias Moretti, whose strong & appealing portrayal has the right and tricky combination of being a man who is a devout Jew ("of David's line"), a "just man" as Scripture calls him (as does Mary in this film), a hard-working & excellent carpenter, who has a chaste love for Mary, and who struggles spiritually & emotionally to deal with the great mysteries confronting him regarding the divine conception of Mary's baby and the Incarnation of the Son of God. He has to be instructed several times by an Angel to understand and follow the mysterious plan of God at various stages, and he listens and obeys. He also understands and and does all he can to protect the Christ child from threats to his life. All of this is very well portrayed in the film, and is clearly based on the events from Scripture.
Regarding the "doubts" of Mary's virginity, that of course is clear in Scripture that Joseph did indeed naturally question how she could be pregnant without another man being involved, and was therefore planning to do the "just" act and divorce her quietly (instead of having her stoned as was often the case then for adultery). It was only when the Angel revealed to him that the child was conceived by the power of God that he came to understand, and accept that mystery. And why wouldn't a mere mortal man (born with original sin like us) with deep love for his spouse lose his temper when he hears she is pregnant ? This guy was no wimpy man. His strong emotions show how much he deeply cared for Mary.
Regarding the issue of "labor pains", the Church has no definitive teaching on whether Mary had labor pains or not. One is free to take it either way. That is something that has had great theologians and saints on both sides of the debate, but "labor pains" do not mean that she was not pure or that Christ was not God. After all, she suffered greatly in her life ("a sword shall pierce your heart" said Simeon to her) and of course her Son suffered incalculably in his passion & death. Suffering (like labor pains) don't mean you are not close to God - often those closest to God suffer greatly, and willingly.
Regarding Joseph possibly having any "worries" or doubts" about his foster son, we know that Joseph had to struggle with the divine mystery of who his son was, and like us had to grow in his understanding of this mysterious person who was both God and man. But the film clearly shows that while he has to grow in that faith and understanding, at the same time he accepts the mystery and deeply loves Jesus.
And finally Mary does not "despair" in the film when they lose the their child for three days. That just doesn't happen. She of course is greatly concerned, but never says she "despairs". While they both search earnestly for the child, she does say we must "pray and trust in the Lord" to help them find the child.
After watching the film a few times I liked it better each time. As I say, Tobias Moretti was outstanding in the lead, and I also really liked Stefania Rivi as Mary, another obviously difficult role to pull off right. I think she presented the right combo of feminity, beauty, purity, spirituality, humility and a deep faith in God. The cinematography, and the music score, are wonderful as well.
Highly recommended !
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