Whether it be Cecil B. DeMille or the straight-to-DVD shelf at your local supermarket, the film industry has always found a place for religious films, which is surprisingly a market that is quite profitable. Even those who avoid these stories as much as they can will inevitably find themselves being coerced into experiencing them firsthand, because there is something magnetic about these films, whether it is falling for the sheer spectacle, or being thoroughly entertained by the camp nature that a lot of these films tend to embrace, whether intentionally or not. The life of Jesus Christ is by far the most popular, with his birth or death being the subject of many retellings in various forms. The Nativity in particular tends to have the most potential, as it has been retold numerous times, each instance trying to find new ways to explore what is popularly known as the Greatest Story Ever Told, a label that many have used to their advantage when attempting to filter the narrative through their unique vision. In his feature directorial debut, Adam Anders (who is more notable as one of the most commercially successful music producers in history) decides to tell his version of the story, collaborating with a wide range of artists from several countries in the creation of Journey to Bethlehem, a music retelling of the marriage of Mary and Joseph, and the birth of their son Jesus, which essentially was the genesis of Christianity, at least from this perspective. Taking a few bold ideas and reconfiguring them into this flurry of music, comedy and over-the-top dramatics, Anders creates a wildly entertaining musical that doesn’t do anything particularly revolutionary, and often even falls victim to some of its more conventional elements, but is still very much worth our time, even at its most simplistic.

Every time a new retelling of one of these well-known biblical stories goes into production, we have to wonder whether it is necessary to go through the same material again. There are more adaptations of stories from the Bible than there are just about any other story (except perhaps some of Shakespeare’s works and The Fast and the Furious), which can sometimes make it seem like filmmakers are too lazy to find other stories. The question is, are there many other stories worth retelling in the first place? Naturally, the answer is always going to be affirmative, but considering how much of contemporary life is still guided by these principles written in texts from thousands of years ago, it’s understandable why someone would think it would be worth exploring again since it isn’t the story itself that drives people to this material, but rather what it represents. To its credit, Journey to Bethlehem does its best to be original – Anders understands that he has limitations as a director, and instead of a straightforward, historically accurate epic, he decides to transform this story into a musical, one that bears the traits of his origins in pop music, writing original songs with a coterie of songwriters and musicians, who may not produce anything particularly memorable (which is unfortunately often the case with original musicals, rather than those that start as concept albums or having spent some time developing on stage, both consistently yielding better results), but still do enough to push this film forward and give it the necessary dose of energy it needed to keep us engaged, with is an oddly challenging endeavour, especially for audiences that seem to be slowly outgrowing these stories, whether it is because society is gradually becoming more secular, or simply because we have seen this exact story told many times before. Yet, it is still enough to keep us invested, granted we can suspend all disbelief.

The formula that went into the creation of Journey to Bethlehem is clear – compose a few generic pop songs that can be repurposed to serve a different function (one has to remember that classic joke in which the method to turn any pop song into a religious one is to change the word “baby” to “Jesus”, the inverse being quite effective as well), and cast a few mildly memorable actors, and perhaps a couple of recognizable veterans to give it some gravitas. In the case of this film, we have Fiona Palomo and Milo Manheim, which most will be forgiven for never having seen previously, since their prior work is not all that notable. They’re both solid – neither are particularly sharp or brilliant actors, but they serve the purpose of playing the protagonists in a way that draws the audience in. The film is mostly constructed as romance between Mary and Joseph (Jesus is only born in the climactic final moments), so it was important to cast actors who would be able to sell this side of the story effectively. They do what was required, including showing that they are quite good performers, even if they aren’t all that memorable, and I highly doubt this will be their breakthrough. The allure of Journey to Bethlehem is found in the supporting cast, particularly the presence of Antonio Banderas – it is understandable why some of these more obscure younger actors would jump at the opportunity to participate in this film, but its bewildering to try and figure out why Banderas chose to spend however much time was required to play a one-dimensional villain in a mid-budget religious musical. The answer isn’t clear, but what is quite obvious is that no one in this film was having as much fun as him – as King Herod, he chews the scenery more than ever before, and he proves that he is just as magnetic a presence in such a thankless role as he is in the iconic parts that defined his career. I suspect many will be drawn to this film solely to see what Banderas is doing, and he makes sure to give us our money’s worth, even if the surrounding film is decidedly not quite as generous towards the rest of the cast.

Those seeking a more complex and detailed (and historically accurate) version of this story should look elsewhere since Journey to Bethlehem is defined almost entirely by its more off-the-wall elements. Anders is certainly not the strongest director, and there are many moments where it is abundantly clear that the film is being helmed by a record executive who cares more about the numbers than he did the actual art behind it, which is sadly a trait of late-stage capitalism intermingling with the world of cinema. A film like this was never intended to be taken seriously, and the efforts to reconfigure it as such are foolish, since no one involved in it seemed to be under the impression that they were making the definitive version of this story, let alone one that was driven by a sense of authenticity. The film is drawn from the mythology around the birth of Jesus than it was religion itself – it is oddly quite ambivalent to the idea of worship and faith and is more appropriately viewed as a historical film than it is a religious one. This allows the film some space to take a few chances without ever coming across as blasphemous or gaudy (even though there is a particular moment towards the end where the last remaining thread of credibility snaps and the entire film collapses into an over-the-top camp event, which could be awe-inspiring or laugh-inducing depending on the viewer), and gives it some space to be a bit looser in how it explores the narrative. It’s sometimes quite unconventional, and it never seems to be all that focused on authenticity, which was never a requirement, and is part of the charm of this version of the story, which tries wholeheartedly to be a religious extravaganza, and does succeed, just not in the way that we may necessarily expect.

Journey to Bethlehem is certainly not the first time the life of Jesus Christ has been subjected to a musical – we already have Jesus Christ Superstar as perhaps the most artistically resonant blend of biblical storytelling and music, which is a worthwhile pairing, considering it can be a very effective way to look at certain stories. However, it would be foolish to think that this was in any way better than the countless other films made on the subject. The difference comes in realizing that the audience most likely to deride this film does not at all match with those to whom it was marketed, which is often the case with faith-based films, which are directed at a specific portion of the population who don’t venture into these films for the sake of being artistically challenged or having their opinions or beliefs changed. Once we start to look at this film from this perspective, we can start to realize that this is not a complete waste of resources or time, since it serves a very specific purpose. It does require some patience, and perhaps even a sense of humour, to make it through, but Journey to Bethlehem is still a very entertaining film, and one that proves that there is still a place for old-fashioned filmmaking, one that depends less on technological innovation, and instead on the sheer spectacle of a few dozen extras singing and dancing in the desert, which is exactly what this film is when we deconstruct it and look at it from the fundamental level. It’s silly, over-the-top and ridiculous, with over-eager performances and songs that are perhaps slightly too dramatic – but yet it is incredibly entertaining, and even for those who aren’t moved by the religious undercurrent, the film is still wonderfully endearing and offers us a brief distraction more than anything else, which is still somewhat worthwhile.