Movie Review # 632: Journey To Bethlehem (2023)

Well, everyone, hope you all are doing well. Today, we review a live-action musical film that was just released a couple weeks ago. Not only that, but this musical revolves around an event that occurred many, many centuries ago, as well as the reason why we have come to celebrate a famous holiday near the end of every year. Yes, the film that we are reviewing today is based on the birth of our Lord, and Savior, Jesus Christ, and the events that occurred around that time. So now, let’s discuss the new musical film by the name of Journey To Bethlehem, which stars Milo Manheim as Joseph, Fiona Paloma as Mary, Antonio Banderas as King Herod, and more.

Plot: The movie is a retelling of Joseph, and Mary, their journey to Bethlehem, the birth of Jesus Christ, and the events that occurred during this process.

First of all, wow, what an excellent film! In all truth, part of me wonders why this film hasn’t outdone The Marvels like how Sound Of Freedom apparently outdid the newer Indiana Jones movie when those two films were released close to each other just this past summer. First of all, even though Journey To Bethlehem does take a few liberties like the 2006 adaptation did, along with 1998’s The Prince Of Egypt that was based on part of the Biblical account of Moses, this films, like those ones that I just mentioned, remains as faithful to the source material as possible. I mean the movie may add layers to some of the characters, including Joseph, and Mary, and, of course, King Herod especially. Still, the movie does do well with depicting what those people were like in the actual Biblical account of this event. There was also some really good cinematography in this film, from the beautiful layout of the desert, the houses that were depicted in the movie, and more. But probably one of the biggest highlights of this movie was the music. Yes, we did have classic songs in this film like “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”. Even so, we are treated with some really good original music, with songs like “Mary’s Getting Married”, “Journey To Bethlehem”, “Can We Make This Work”, “Three Wise Guys”, “In My Blood”, and songs like those. However, it wouldn’t be surprising if one of the major standout songs for many of those that see this film would end up being the villain song, “Good To Be King.” Wow, first of all, since this movie is live-action, and not animated, it was really cool to incorporate a villain song in this musical, especially one that’s not even a remake of an animated musical Disney film for once, you know? Second, even for “Good To Be King” being in a live-action musical film, this song will still give you vibes of villain songs that have been in Disney animated musical films of the past, especially the one that Scar sung in 1994’s The Lion King, “Be Prepared.” I will say that I was rather surprised by how well Antonio Banderas delivered not only in his impressive acting for this character, but also in this song that he sang for the film. He truly delivered. Same with the other actors, and actresses in their respective roles for this film. In addition to that being the case, the rest of the songs are also really good, and truly help develop the rest of the characters, and the story overall, like songs in a good musical are supposed to do. They truly do show a human side to each of the characters, both the heroes, and main villains, as well as supporting villains. It’s just a shame that none of the songs are likely to be nominated at the Oscars for Best Original Song come next year. That is since the songs are mostly really good, and should be nominated, you know? Maybe I’ll be proven wrong, and one, or two of the songs will be? We shall see, come the Oscar ceremony in 2024. Oh, and there is another thing that should be noted in regards to the songs. Some of you have heard of Luke, and Joel Smallbone of the Christian duo band For King & Country, have you not? Well, the latter also plays a character in this film, the one called Antipater, the son of King Herod. Let me tell you guys, not only does he do a great job as this character, but also sings his songs in this film just as well, if not better than when he has sung Christian songs of the past such as “Shoulders”, “For God Is With Us”, “What Are We Waiting For?”, and songs like those. Finally, one other thing to mention about the songs is that the other actors, and actresses do well in their respective roles, as well as their singing. I mean Milo Manheim does great as Joseph, as well as the songs that he sings. Same with Fiona Palomo as Mary, and all the others. In addition to all of these, there was also some really good symbolism throughout this film, especially around the middle to end of this movie. Finally, as for the story, overall, like I mentioned before, it does take some liberties. Still, it also does well with remaining as true to the Gospel of the birth of Jesus Christ as possible. Even so, it was cool to see a really big human side to each of the characters that were most likely, for the most part, actually accurate to the actual people in real life.

That all being said, if there were any downsides to Journey To Bethlehem, it would be that one, though most of the costume designs were great for the film, there were a couple times when the costume design might have felt a little off, and something that was more fit for a high school production, or something along those lines. Another thing is that, I’m not sure that the casting choice for the Angel, Gabriel, was the best. Don’t get me wrong! Lecrae is a good singer, and was a great actor for this role. Still, it might have been better if the casting people had made the role for maybe someone with white, or blonde hair, and lighter skin, you know someone who would have had a much closer depiction of what Angels most likely actually look like, you know? Thankfully, these things don’t bog this movie’s enjoyment by much, but still.

And that’s my review for Journey To Bethlehem. Even though there were a couple elements that could have been tweaked a little more in this film, Journey To Bethlehem is still really enjoyable overall. The movie fleshes out the characters by showing their human side, does a mostly great job of remaining true to the Gospel of the Birth of Jesus Christ, while, of course, taking liberties in the process, and has some really great songs that may likely become underrated due to this film not performing as well at the box office as it should. Considering that this movie is made by Affirm Films, which also made really good films in the past like 2011’s Soul Surfer, 2019’s Overcomer, which were also great films, and more over the years, Journey To Bethlehem definitely deserves more recognition than it has been getting in the end. If you haven’t seen Journey To Bethlehem, then you should. Even if a couple items may have kept it from being the best film that it could be, it does well with accurately depicting what the actual people in this film were like in real life, despite it probably not being entirely correct for some of them, and the songs were big standouts for this movie. If you haven’t seen Journey To Bethlehem, please, please do give this one a chance. Even if it could have been slightly better, people will still appreciate how much heart was put into this film, and probably even consider the Gospel of the Birth of Jesus Christ from both a Biblical perspective, and, probably even a newer perspective as well. So, definitely go see Journey To Bethlehem when you can, and see what you think!

Final Grade: A-