SOMETHING DIFFERENT IN CHRISTMAS MOVIES

Nothing against Miracle on 34th Street or It’s A Wonderful Life, mind you, but you might want something a little different for your Christmas viewing this year. 

Auntie Mame (1958) features Rosalind Russell as the madcap maiden aunt, and reluctant guardian,  of author Patrick Dennis. When everyone gets depressed, Mame decides it’s time for Christmas, and so they have it. The calendar is irrelevant.  Much better than the so-so musical version with Lucille Ball.

Christmas is the catalyst for a strange voluntary truce between Allied and Axis soldiers in the compelling, and underrated, A Midnight Clear (1992).  Ethan Hawke and Gary Sinise head a good ensemble cast. This fine film quietly makes the point that we have more in common than we have to fight about. 

Another highly recommended sleeper is The Railway Children (1952). It begins with the worst Christmas ever when the father of three children is unjustly sent to prison. Their lives were already hard on a marginal small farm near the railroad tracks, and now it seems all will be lost. But they begin a doubtful campaign to free their father and are most grateful for the small pleasures life brings them. This joyous, almost unknown, film teaches that children can accomplish great things.

The wonderful Kramer v. Kramer may seem an unlikely choice unless you happen to remember that Ted Kramer loses his job a few days before Christmas and has to put on a happy face for the young son he is raising alone. We tend to remember the bitter child custody trial that gives the film its title, but most of the movie is about learning to be a real parent and what a joy everything can be. Dustin Hoffman as the father and Meryl Streep as the mother both won Oscars, as did the movie for best film.

When you reach the saturation point from Christmas schmaltz and commercialism, it’s time for Tim Burton’s amazing The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993). Filmed in an exacting stop-action technique, the look of the film is unique. The story involves Jack Skeffington, the bizarre Pumpkin King of Halloweentown, deciding to confiscate Christmas as the better choice of holidays. The kidnapping of Santa Claus is just one of the outrages committed by Jack and his cronies. Nightmare is not for all tastes. Teenagers generally love it; adult reviews are mixed.

All of the movies in this column are available on DVD. Railway Children and Auntie Mame fine for 8 and up; the rest for 12 and over.