The Trouble with Christmas

There is just something about the festive season that has never lost its magic. Whether it is the promise of multiple turkey feasts with family or listening to Shakin' Stevens Christmas hits, I just never tire of Christmas. This results in films which I would not even consider normally rising to the top of my priorities if they have a Christmas setting. It is difficult to explain exactly what it is about Christmas that still enchants me so but it is again that time of year when I feel my belly rumble with festive cheer. This blog is going to cover three of my favourite Christmas films ranging from a child unfortunately left alone by their family to those suffering the fear of an altogether more sinister ol' St. Nick. Now that I think about it, that sums up my love for Christmas right there.

Home Alone

Home Alone was my favourite film when I was young. Actually Home Alone 2 was but because I owned the sequel and not the original, the otherworldly allure of its predecessor was too much to resist. I liked everything about the film, the criminals are genuinely villainous and Kevin's out-witting of various adults made him the perfect role model for an impressionable young man. I remember being given a replica Talkboy for my Christmas only to feel utter dejection upon finding that my voice and the 'slow' function did not equal my fathers voice and as such could not book me hotel rooms or explain my absences from school. I was willing to overlook this and just focus on how good the films are. The original (although I am sure you are aware) tells the story of a feuding family who, in the haste of pre-holiday havoc, leave their young son behind as they embark on a trip to France. Kevin quickly adjusts to his role as the man of the house and begins the associated tasks of showering, shopping and defending his kingdom from the advances of two hapless burglars. What ensues is a slapstick series of traps and tricks as the criminal worlds answer to the Chuckle Brothers attempt to defeat Macaulay Culkin. Kevin's success is a victory for all children and his ingenuity an inspiration for my future endeavours to the present day.

This is Christmas, the season of perpetual hope. And I don't care if I have to get out on your runway and hitchhike. If it costs me everything I  own, if I have to sell my soul to the devil himself, I am going to get home to my son.

Elf

Starring Will Ferrell, James Caan and Zooey Deschanel, Jon Favreau's Elf (2003) depicts Buddy the Elf's banishing from Christmas paradise and his struggles to adjust to everyday life in the city. Buddy, previously unaware of his human origins after a mix-up and hasty adoption, struggles to adapt to this new life which brings some hilarious moments with his initial arrival in New York and subsequent attempts to please his father particular stand outs.

It's just like Santa's workshop! Except it smells like  mushrooms... and everyone looks like they wanna hurt me...

Elf is essentially a story about spreading Christmas cheer to those who are not so predisposed  but is also a story about family and the connections that are particularly important to people at this time of year. It is Buddy's persistent insistence which, although at first grating to those around him, endears people to him and the Christmas spirit required to resolve the plight of Santa and his elves. Elf is a genuinely funny and heartwarming film that loses its way a little towards the end. However, Will Ferrell's MTV Movie Award for best comedic performance was very well deserved. Buddy has settled in New York and is telling his tale in a Broadway musical through the Christmas season this year. The films box office takings of $220million display how much affection the movie going public has for this type of festive experience.

I just like to smile, smiling's my favourite!

Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale

In terms of appropriate titles Rare Exports is about as apt as you could request. Rare in terms of its portrayal of Christmas so far removed from that we are accustomed to and exported from Finland to an unsuspecting audience around the world. It is unusual for me to be able to summarise a Christmas film as a creepy horror with comedic moments and under-tones of paedophilia but that is exactly what Rare Exports has to offer. To say that this is a Christmas film not suitable for children evokes memories of Bad Santa et al. but this is a far different proposition. Rare Exports may not be for children but it may not be for most adults either. 

Director Jalmari Helander has created something between an unsuccessful comedy and unsuccessful horror derived from his earlier series of Internet shorts. That is not to say that the film is not enjoyable just that it does not fulfil expectations of either genre. The films tag line proclaims that "This Christmas everyone will believe in Santa Claus", they may well but it is not the same Santa Claus you can expect to see on your Coke can. Children will barricade the doors of their advent calenders, naked elves will chase children through the snow and in time honoured tradition Santa will be nowhere to be seen. In place of the great deliverer or gifts we are faced with the great discipliner of children. Santa is excavated from an icy mountain grave before facing the guile of the local townspeople. The film is strangely unsatisfying regardless of the fact that there are no loose ends at the close of the film but it is also unlike any other Christmas film you will see this year.

I asked through my Twitter account what your favourite Christmas movies were and the replies were so varied that it really reiterated the wide range of circumstances, and as such the cinematic opportunity, afforded by this particular holiday. Christmas films have the wide-ranging appeal of being suited to hard-luck stories of loss and redemption to tales of unbridled joy for family viewing. The Christmas setting can be adapted to almost every narrative and as such we can expect an influx of new additions at this time every year. However, any new additions to my cinematic stocking will struggle to usurp the magic of the three detailed above.

The trouble with Christmas..? It only comes once a year.