Finding Christmas
By BOBBY PALMER
Saturday, December 20, 2008 12:41 PM CST
You're standing in line at the video store or scanning through the lineup on the cable or satellite guide looking for a Christmas movie. You have so many choices, but somewhere in the wide, wide world of cinema is a flick that goes with your 2008 holiday, the cranberry sauce for your turkey.
Here is a handful of holiday films. One just might be the one you seek. You will notice that I have not included any that attempt to portray the actual Christmas story, since I think no movie has come close. Nothing beats reading the story out of the Bible with your family. Certainly, there are other cinema choices available, but these seemed to fit for me.
POLAR EXPRESS: You have to be able to buy into the magic in order to really get into Christmas. This Tom Hanks animated story is enjoyable particularly for the young. It is also excellent exercise for crusty curmudgeons needing to reorient holiday priorities.
A DICKENS OF A TIME: Take your pick. I can't choose between the Alastair Sim version of Scrooge or the George C. Scott take on A Christmas Carol. As you know, both follow the same story of the three ghosts visiting the miserly Scrooge. The tale of despair, conviction and redemption may be one that fits for you, if only as entertaining relief that it is not your story.
LOVE ACTUALLY is an adult British comedy with an all-star cast examining a wide variety of the types of love. You see the despair of lost love, young love, betrayed love and a lot of discovered love. With Hugh Grant, Collin Firth, Liam Neeson, and Emma Thompson, you know you will enjoy it. Just make sure the little ones are asleep before you start it.
LITTLE LORD Fauntleroy reminds us that there is always hope that ruptured family relationships will heal, if people are patient. I have a slight preference for the 1980 Alec Guinness-Ricky Schroeder version, but there is nothing wrong with the 1936 release with Mickey Rooney, C. Aubrey Smith and Freddie Bartholomew. Give this classic a chance and it may speak to you in ways you did not expect.
THERE IS ONLY one It's A Wonderful Life. This Jimmy Stewart classic reaches out to those wondering if it would not have been better if they had never been born. I don't know for certain if someone who feels their life is in the toilet because of a lost job, divorce or business worries will respond to this affirmation of individual worth, but the message is there if they will give it a chance.
I should mention Ed Asner's The Gathering and Chris Kristofferson's Miracle In The Wilderness (both made for television movies which are hard to find) are certainly worth a look.
At one time or another I have loved and loathed all of these films. Only one or two were instant hits with me, the others grew on me over time. A lot depends on my attitude at the time which is shaped by what may be going on in my life at the moment. What's happening with you? I think there is a Christmas movie that you want to see.
