My beloved Christmas movies
Recommendations
If someone asked you, “What does Christmas mean to you?” How would you respond?
Some would likely say it's a time to be with family, reconnect with friends you haven't seen for most of the year, and enjoy a beautiful dinner with your loved ones. Others may prefer to use the holidays to relax after a year of hard work or study. Yes, studying also takes a lot of energy. It's not easy for our kids to wake up very early in the morning and come home in the late afternoon or even at night.
Most choose to take a long trip and enjoy a place that is completely new and unknown to them, enjoy a change of scenery for 15 days, and recharge their batteries to start the year with renewed energy. And of course, there are those who spend 14 of those 15 days going from one party to another until they arrive at work with a massive hangover. And yes, Christmas is all of those things, because it is subjective, and also cultural. There are those who celebrate Santa Claus, others the Baby Jesus, and these kinds of things are often reflected in movies.
Movies I love watching at Christmas
Like anyone who prides themselves on loving Christmas, there are some movies I feel a strong connection to because they remind me of my childhood. These movies weren't always available on television, but you could go to the cinema or the drive-in. This short list also includes more recent movies, of course, because we don’t live by classics alone.
It's a Wonderful Life!
This Christmas classic not only has to be on the list, but it was impossible for it not to be at the top. It always has to be above any other (at least for me). If you haven't seen this beautiful Christmas movie, go watch it. You'll find several truly beautiful and powerful messages. Not only does it encourage you to be a better person, but it also encourages you to enjoy your family and the gift of having them with you. There are people who are alone and don't want to be, who long to have someone to spend Christmas with.
It also explores a very interesting theme, the meaning of our existence, our role in a community or family. Sometimes we don't appreciate the significance of our lives and what they mean to the people around us. We take it for granted that we only influence the people we interact with directly, but after watching this movie, you realize that you can even influence people indirectly. It is up to you whether this influence is positive or negative. It is always better to be remembered for good things than for bad, so always try to do good, regardless of who it's for.
The Holiday
I have an account on the social network X (formerly Twitter), and people were always talking about this movie as a Christmas classic, and I felt somewhat out of place with that view because I hadn't seen it until then. But in December 2023, I decided to watch it and... wow, what a lovely surprise! It's not just another Christmas movie with fireworks and artificial problems; it's about real-life situations that could happen to anyone.
You can be a single father who lives with his daughter and dedicates his life to her, but you're also open to finding a partner who accepts you in that situation. Sometimes things happen and you're left caring for your daughter on your own because your wife left or died. You may be coming out of a relationship that wasn't making you feel good and was also draining your energy and undermining your self-esteem, so you just wanted to get away from there and start over with renewed strength.
It may also happen that on a journey where you are searching for your way, you find it, and that way brings with it someone special, the person you have been searching for all this time, and that is the most beautiful Christmas gift you could ever receive.
The Shop Around the Corner
This must be one of the first films in the Enemies to Lovers genre, which refers to those films or TV Series in which the main characters have a terrible relationship, and it seems that the hatred and tension between them could be cut with a knife. The point is, as the saying goes: there is a fine line between love and hate, and vice versa, because the order of the factors does not alter the result in this case.
I would say that today it is one of the most successful genres, romantic comedies in which the protagonists hate each other and little by little, as they get to know each other, they realize they share great chemistry and that it would be a mistake not to embrace those feelings that are growing inside them. But here they take it a step further: not only do they have a bad relationship, but at the same time they get along beautifully, and in their minds, the other is the perfect person to build a life with. Sounds crazy, right?
Well, dive into this great romantic comedy and let me know what you think in the comments.
Just Friends
While chatting with a friend a while ago, I realized that Just Friends is also a Christmas movie, and the fact that there are holiday decorations everywhere tends to go unnoticed. In fact, the protagonist's father brags about having the best decorations in the state. I'm adding it because, although it's true that it's not part of my yearly holiday tradition, it will be from now on. I think it's better to have extras than to miss one, and this fun rom-com also deserves a place on this short list.
The film is about the friendship between Chris Brander and Jamie Palamino, who have been friends since they were five years old and spend nearly all their time together. Jamie always dates guys who are popular but not the sharpest. Chris, on the other hand, has no love life for two reasons: first, he is completely in love with Jamie, and second, he is very overweight, which makes him less attractive to girls. As a result, Chris is forced to express his feelings; it's a step he has to take.
It's never easy to reveal your feelings. Rejection is a very painful process, from receiving it to accepting it, because we all want to be valued, loved, and accepted in return. In fact, it's very frustrating when your feelings are not reciprocated.
Balto
How brave this “wolf-can” was! He was actually a Siberian husky who lived for 14 years. This remarkable creature had the courage to carry a very heavy load together with other dogs from the area. It was the antitoxin for diphtheria, as there was a severe epidemic in Nome, Alaska. The journey was anything but easy. He took charge of the last stretch, about 55 miles, during which he had to risk his life several times to reach his destination. I am mixing the movie and real life to maintain the tone of the story.
After all that arduous journey and its hardships, he finally reached his destination around 05:30 in the morning with the shipment of medicine. This happened approximately 100 years and 11 months ago. After that feat, Balto was widely celebrated during his lifetime so that people from all cities could learn about his story. A few years later, specifically in 1933, he passed away of natural causes. He was embalmed and is now in the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, where you can visit him and pay tribute to him for having contributed to the world in this way.
It is not a Christmas movie per se, but it conveys many of the values that we should always hold dear, especially at this time of year when we seek to close cycles and open new ones.
P.S. Dear Peliplaters, remember that no one is a failure who has friends. Merry Christmas! ✨🥂💥
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