Winter break. Hours and hours with nothing to do. Family movie nights where you argue over the remote for 30 minutes. Not this year! I’ve compiled a list of holiday classics and personal favorites within the vast genre. Hallmark cheer or heart-wrenching yearning, take your pick.
Love, Actually: Arguably the quintessential Christmas rom-com, Love Actually (2003) has only gained stature with time. If you’re somehow unfamiliar, the movie follows several different love stories over the course of the month before Christmas. From the persisting fat jokes, to the writer’s insistence on showing every woman half naked, to the Joni Mitchell CD, there’s a lot to yell at the TV about. Most of the plotlines have soured with time or were always completely insane. Yet, ‘tis the season! If you’re able to take the movie as it is, which is completely ridiculous, you’ll have a good time. If not…what a perfect segue.
Klaus: Pretty much a complete 180 from Love, Actually, Klaus is a charming Santa origin story. Jesper, the entitled protagonist, is sent to a northern island where he meets a recluse toy maker Klaus. The hand-drawn animation style is lovely and sets it apart from other Christmas movies. It is simply not the same as the Disney movies your family watches every year, and while those may have your heart, Klaus is sure to win it too.
Carol: Carol is a period piece detailing the love story between a separated housewife and a younger woman in the 1950s. Immediately the leading women, Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, have an instinctive connection, and the viewer is equally drawn to the two of them as they are to each other. Most of their romance lies in what isn’t said. Color choices and slight, measured movements say more than the characters do. With each glance or shift of the camera, I grasped for something to latch on to. It’s not holiday cheer per se; the bleak winter scene, instead, counters the warmth between them and blends in with the apathetic outside world. With an intricate script, stunning actors, and captivating cinematography, Carol speaks for itself.
Dan in Real Life: Dan in Real Life gets to the heart of the season. Taking place on the East Coast, a big family gathers in the early winter. There is drama, there is mischief, and there is love! It is cozy, honest, and timeless. It feels like stepping out to get the newspaper with pajama pants and slippers on watching your breath bellow out in front of you. I haven’t personally experienced that feeling, but I can assume.
Die Hard: We’ve all heard it. An insufferable man in your life stating ‘Die Hard is a Christmas movie.’ Maybe you are that man…and for the record, I agree. Die Hard is a classic for a reason. It has everything an action movie needs: just enough background to understand the character, little enough background to leave room for action, and several catchphrases. Good stuff, no notes.
I hope these movies help you get into the spirit, even if all you’re celebrating is two weeks off of school. Happy holidays!
