My favourite Christmas movies

Everyone loves Christmas movies; they are the perfect antidote to the cold dark days of Winter, and more so than ever this year they are great for lifting the mood.

In my Festive Favourites of Film & TV, I will also be answering some heavy-hitting questions such as is Love Actually actually good? Is Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut a Christmas film? And, of course, the much-debated Nightmare Before Christmas conundrum, is it a Halloween film or a Christmas movie?

So without further ado, let’s say cheers to the season and have a look at my Festive Faves

Home Alone - Stream on Disney+

A classic that I have watched over and over again since I was a child. Back in the day, my sister and I would watch it on VHS tape probably every year, and we were utterly obsessed with Angels with Filthy Souls the fake black and white gangster movie that Kevin watches and would re-enact the scene over and over again (we still do sometimes). I also think the idea of being left home alone over Christmas spoke to my introverted soul, and I felt that I would totally enjoy it. But I guess every kid felt the same and as you grow up you realise half the joy of Christmas is the communal experience (RIP Christmas 2020).

The Nightmare Before Christmas - Stream on Disney+

I have so much love for this stop-motion masterpiece and while some may argue that it is a Halloween movie I most ardently think that it is a Christmas film and one of the best at that. I think it captures the wonder and awe of Christmas in a very unique and charming way. I watch The Nightmare Before Christmas every year and will probably be watching it on Christmas Eve this year or maybe tonight who knows.

The Holiday - Stream on Netflix

I am a sucker for a Rom-Com and The Holiday is my festive film of choice within that genre, I was umming and ahhing as to whether I should choose Love Actually instead, but I’m not so sure about that film anymore.

I feel like modern dissections make me realise that it’s somewhat problematic, but I still find some of it funny, like the scene with Rowan Atkinson pretentiously wrapping a gift.

But anyway, back to The Holiday, and while it’s not without its issues, I would be inclined to say that it has aged better than Love Actually. It’s light-hearted fluff, and tbh I would totally spend Christmas at Iris’s cute country cottage.

Carol - Stream on Amazon Prime

Carol is gorgeously shot, and the performances by Cate Blancett and Rooney Mara are stunning. I love the moment Carol and Therese meet at the department store.

Also, Therese reminds me of how I used to behave working in retail over Christmas, nervous and quoting product specifications because I read all the material on the items I had to sell. I also wrote a film review of Carol a few years back on my old blog that I copied over to this one (wow, 5 years, to be precise!).

Hjem til Jul (Home for Christmas) - Netflix Original TV Series

This Norwegian language TV series is a concoction of romantic comedy genre tropes in one delightfully festive package, and I can’t get enough!

Joanne is a single 30-year-old nurse who is quite ok with her relationship status until the festive season rolls around. At the first advent dinner, her family criticise her for not having a boyfriend and sit her next to her brother’s noisy twins. Hell on earth, essentially.

So in true rom-com heroine style, instead of resigning herself to a repeat come Christmas Day, Joanne announces that she has a boyfriend without thinking. Thus a mad 24-day hunt ensues as she tries to find the perfect man to bring home for Christmas.

Eyes Wide Shut - Available to rent on BFI Player & other platforms

Am I clutching at straws to include this film in a Festive Favourites list? After all what says Christmas more than a secret high society sex cult?

Well, nothing other than the fact that Eyes Wide Shut takes place over the festive season, and I love Stanley Kubrick, so you can’t stop me from including it!

While it’s not your usual Christmas movie brimming with festive cheer or romance, it’s almost like a shot of reality, or perhaps it could even be called an Anti-Christmas film.

Film Critic Lee Seigel wrote:

“There is the fantasy of absolute gratification, cynically projected from every corner of the culture, and there is the reality of the cookie and the child and the homework and the companion you have chosen, and for whom, despite everything, you sit at home waiting. Compared with the everyday reality of sex and emotion, our fantasies of gratification are, yes, pompous and solemn in the extreme. That is why the film’s recurrent motif is of the Christmas tree. For desire is like Christmas: it always promises more than it delivers.”

This analysis really hits the nail on the head. When you delve deeper into the film, its themes of sexuality, ego, desire, and sexism really are complemented by the fantastic metaphor of Christmas. And, of course, it goes without saying that all those lights make for great cinematography.

Let me know in the comments what your Favourite Festive Film and TV picks are.