The Spirits of Christmas

I have been on an odd movie kick over the last few months. It started with a random decision to watch the three Sergio Leone/Clint Eastwood Spaghetti Westerns, A Fistful of Dollars, A Few Dollars More and the Good, the Bad and the Ugly. I enjoyed the development of Clint Eastwood’s Man With No Name across these films, and the increasing assurance of the director as the plots and characterizations got more complex. It made me want to watch other movie series to see if they could match the consistency and creativity. 

Some of the series I chose were predictable, like The Lord of the Rings – Extended Version (except for one glaring plot hole filled in the last movie, probably not necessary) and the Daniel Craig Bond movies (stick with Casino Royale and Skyfall). Other series are less well known, such as the Koker Trilogy, by Iranian Director Abbas Kiarostami. (Where is the Friends’ House is one of the most unexpectedly tense movies I have ever experienced. Who would have thought that watching a 9-year-old boy search for his schoolmate’s house to return his homework book could be so suspenseful?).  

As we approached years’ end, I realized that most Christmas series were of little interest (no, I do not want to watch The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause), so I decided to create my own. Like many people, I have certain Christmas movies I watch every year. One of those is the 1951 A Christmas Carol, starring Alister Sim. I decided to make it a Dickens Christmas and pair it with The Man Who Invented Christmas, recently recommended to me (thanks P.S.), and A Muppet Christmas Carol, which I remembered fondly, but had not seen in years. 

Even before the Hallmark channel decided to churn Christmas movies out like bad sausage, such films were a mixed bag. Unless part of the sub-sub-genre of Christmas horror films (Krampus, Treevenge, Silent Night, Deadly Night), Christmas movies have to ultimately be uplifting and cheery. Even those that buck the usual tropes, like Bad Santa and Scrooged, must give in at the end to reflect the “true meaning of Christmas”. 

In fact, I would go so far to say that if a movie involving Christmas does not end on a positive, edifying note, it is not a Christmas movie. Fanny and Alexander has one of the greatest Christmas segments ever, but those scenes are there to contrast the children’s subsequent life with their stepfather, not evoke Christmas. Yes, Die Hard takes place on Christmas day, but that is superfluous to the plot. Not a Christmas movie!!!  

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Knowing what you are going to get with a Christmas movie is not necessarily a bad thing. There is something nice in being assured that you can pluck any Christmas film off the shelf (a dated Blockbuster reference) and come away smiling. Still, it is a fine line between a film that is comfortably elevating and one that is sickly sweet. No other genre crosses that line again and again like Christmas movies.  

A Christmas Carol provides the ultimate Christmas arc. A character who rejects everything that Christmas stands for – hearty fellowship, charity, goodwill to all. Then, through a string of unlikely events, comes to realize the enchantment of Xmas and fully embrace its magic (bring out the hankies).  

According to Wikipedia, there have been 30 live action filmed versions of the Dickens story, 17 animated Scrooge films and a dozen TV renderings, though I have no doubt the list is incomplete. There are no surprises in any of them. You know the characters. You know what is going to happen to them. And yet the story stands up, whether Scrooge is Captain Jean-Luc Picard (alias Patrick Stewart), an American like George C. Scott (amazing similarity between his Patton and his Scrooge), or Mr. Magoo.   

And yet, for me the Alister Sim version is the one I come back to time and time again. I am not sure why. Part of it is undoubtedly that I know it so well, but I think there is more to it. Not only is this Scrooge spot on, but so are Fezziwig, Marley, Mrs. Dilber and the other secondary characters. The film perfectly captures the spirit of the story, its otherworldliness, its humor, its intensity.  

The Man Who Invented Christmas, about the writing of A Christmas Carol, attempts the difficult task of mixing the tortured artist and Christmas genres. Surprisingly, the film pulls it off. It does not hurt that Jonathan Pryce plays Dickens’ father, and Christopher Plummer the avatar of Scrooge. It is a pleasure to watch this classic story emerge, while at the same time Dickens is learning the lessons imparted by his own characters. I am not sure if it is historically accurate, but I really do not care. 

The Muppets Christmas Carol deftly manages to blend the wonderful zaniness of the Muppets with this, at times, dark tale. The songs by the under-appreciated Paul Williams, who also wrote The Rainbow Connection and Rainy Days and Mondays, are terrific. (We’re Marley and Marley is my favorite). But what really surprised me was that it was mainly filmed with natural lighting, maintaining the gloom of old London so central to the story. A more than worthy addition to the Christmas Carol inventory. 

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Another season passes. Time to park these movies on the to watch list for another 11 months. However, it’s nice to know that come next year, and the year thereafter, there will be films to revisit that are guaranteed to raise a smile and put a clutch in the throat. Until then, as Scrooge would say, “A merry Christmas to everybody! A happy New Year to all the world!”.