Catharina_Sweden

This was so bad, I was so disappointed, because I have lately been interested in the Ottomans and the Byzantines and their meetings and battles. But this had nothing to do with historic facts at all.

Instead it was an obscene story. It seems as if they wanted to make a pornographic movie, but get it approved for ordinary audiences through cloaking it in beautiful gowns and armory, and stilted speeches in fake Old English in a historical setting.

But the "history" part is just silly and has nothing to do with real events or people, and the porn doesn't even work as porn. It is too weird.

Avoid at all costs.

The best thing with this mini series was that it captures the spirit of the time so well. As far as I could see, all the details concerning fashion, music, cars, technique (such as the switchboard), television, famous people, ways of addressing people etc. Are correct. It was like stepping into this period!

Also, it was interesting to watch these events unfold on the screen, because they are part of Swedish modern history. All Swedes will have heard about "Hinsehäxan" = the Hinseberg (the name of the women's prison) witch Lillemor Östlin, the brothel madam Doris Hopp and the Minister of Justice Lennart Geijer. It was an enormous scandal when it exploded.

I was very disappointed in this movie. It was little better than a school nativity play. Everything holy has been taken out of the nativity story. There are no dramatic moments, your heart never races watching it. Also cinematographic it is bleak.

Mary and Joseph and the other holy figures are just like anyone, homely and ordinary people. I mean: everybody of course know that they were poor, I do not mean that, I mean that they have no inner light shining through their outward commonness. And Gabriel is downright wrong, there is nothing archangelic over him at all here, he is a weird and ugly being. Also he turns up on several occasions, when the Gospel just mentions one, to argue with a strange-looking devil (???).

The worst thing though is that many of the events are not according to the Gospels. Avoid this movie, and instead watch the first part of "Jesus of Nazareth" from 1977. That filming of the nativity story and the whole life of Jesus, is unparallelled!