It’s just turned December, which can mean only one thing: all we are allowed to discuss from now on is Christmas, Christmas films, and specifically Jude Law wearing that pair of glasses in The Holiday. Without much further ado, here are our film editors’ opinions on everything holiday film related.
Audrey’s Take: Signing off, your Grinch
Right off the bat, my opinion of Home Alone (1990) is lukewarm. I don’t think it goes down right like the perfect cup of tea, but also, I must have also gotten at least one chuckle in during this lifetime from watching Macaulay Culkin trying to look suave despite looking like a primed baby. Catherine O’Hara’s “KEVIN!” is also one for the books. So hey, I can understand why Home Alone is a “classic” for this time of year—though I may be showing my age by being a little grinch about it.
Younger me also loved Elf (2003). Unfortunately, I’ve since realised that the appeal of the film was blonde Zooey Deschanel as an elf gracing us with her sweet singing, over me finding Woody the Elf even remotely funny. In fact, if I asked my flatmate to watch this film with me, the response would probably be a hard no. Either that, or we would both cringe at just how unfunny Will Ferrell is. Sigh.
In a league of its own, we have … Lesbian Christmas movies? Disclaimer: for the longest time, I was an avid hater of Carol (2015). Now, I can appreciate it; it’s tender and takes its time to tell you a love story. There’s so much rush about Christmas, and sometimes movies need a little touch of melancholia to remind you that it’s okay to feel lonely and yearn for some quiet, despite the outward cheer we’re all expected to exude.
Whatever your takes are, remember I’ll always be on your side as a hater. Happy holidays!
Nikola’s Pick: The Snowman (1982)
For me, the defining Christmas film does not belong to the group of family-affirming, crowd-pleasing holiday classics. The It’s a Wonderful Life’s (1946) or the Love Actually’s (2003) of the world. Nor is it from the half-edgy controversial camp of films that are only tangentially related to Christmas. Die-Hard (1988) might narrowly make the cut, even though badass-ery might not be one of the values traditionally preached in the season of giving. Eye Wide Shut (1999)? No comment, I’d skip this one if you’re trying to avoid the longest Christmas of your life.
It’s The Snowman (1982), a dialogue-less Channel 4 animated film that’s only half an hour long. Inspiring the radiance of Christmas excitement, the film is a beautiful story about freedom and joy of childhood. What sets it apart is where it captures the loneliness of cold winter nights, how joy can be fleeting.
This film is somewhat of a rediscovered treasure for me. Something I cherised and loved as a little boy, only to have forgotten it. Only to let it melt away like a snowman the morning after Christmas. In returning to it, I feel a warm embrace. Whatever that sensation is, I think it feels like Christmas. I hope you feel it too.
Livvie’s Take: Film’s set at Christmas are Christmas films.
Yeah, I said it, I think it’s true: if your film is set around Christmas, then it is undeniably a Christmas film. Sometimes the film reflects the stereotypical feelings of Christmas (warmth, cosiness, family): look towards one of my personal favourite films The Holdovers (2023); the first half of Harry Potter films (2001-2005); even Edward Scissorhands (1990), in that twisted Tim Burton kind of way. These films,to me, scream Christmas holiday wrapped in a blanket, hot chocolate in hand, and contemplating your own strange familial relations in waves of nostalgia. Yet sometimes, you also get the warped oxymoron of violent and intense Christmas films – I’m talking about the likes of your first two Die Hards (1988-1990), In Bruges (2008), and The Gremlins (1984). In both instances, Christmas can be seen as a plot device, as it’s supposedly time for unity and love, therefore often emphasising the film’s emotional undertones that you just can’t get when set in a Barbie/Brat Summer. I don’t think you need a bad Santa impersonation to make a classic Christmas film (please don’t make any more films like Red One (2024) or Dear Santa (2024), I beg), I think you just need some tinsel, snow, and some holiday cheer!
Illustration by Rebecca Tate, @rebi_draws on Instagram