The Plot: It’s the end of November in Ireland and preparations are in full swing for Christmas. The lights are going up along with the trees and decorations. People are of good cheer and show kindness to strangers and each other. However, the realities of all this comes weighing down on a group of people to whom Christmas means something different. The pressure and expectation of it all is too much, given that they have gone through personal tragedies which have forever tainted their impression of Christmas. And yet, they try to celebrate anyway…
The Verdict: ‘A small village in Ireland who have an unfortunate relationship with Christmas.’ That’s the succinct logline for So This Is Christmas on the film’s IMDb page. It makes it sound like a cheesy TV movie where all it needs is some snow and Santa Claus to turn up at the end and make everything right. If only. Originally called I Hate Christmas, Ken Wardrop’s latest observational documentary about rural Irish life is not exactly full of good cheer. That might explain why it’s being released in November, ostensibly early for a Christmas film. It actually makes sense after viewing the film though. This isn’t a cosy Christmas film in the traditional sense, the kind that you might curl up to with a tub of Roses by a roaring fire. It’s more about what Christmas once meant and, thankfully, still means to a number of people who aren’t exactly blessed with good luck.
Wardrop has chronicled the lives of Irish people for many years, often to whimsical but touching effect like in His & Hers. The whimsy is still there (it opens with a priest trying to explain the connection between Jesus and Santa Claus to a group of youngsters), but in smaller doses for this film. Instead, there’s a much larger dose of reality. Working with a different research team this time around, he’s found some genuinely affecting participants to observe in his usual non-interfering way, which encourages openness in a safe space to talk. There are single parents raising young children, missing their late partner or scraping a living and wondering whether there’ll be enough money for Christmas presents. There’s an elderly woman with an eating disorder who deals with loneliness, her only visitor being a delivery man who drops by each week. There’s a middle-aged woman who has lost contact with family and her young niece, with children being what makes Christmas special. A man deals with the absence of his late parents at Christmas time.
‘Time is the greatest present anyone can give or receive’ is a running theme in the film, which is bracingly honest about the unfortunate realities of life… but also hopeful about going on with life regardless. One could almost say the film’s title out loud with a weary sigh, but one could also say it in the spirit of what Christmas represents. That’s what is most remarkable about these participants, whose stories are often heart-breaking. Despite everything they’ve gone through, Christmas still means something to them. Not as much as it once did, but they try anyway and smile through the tears. It’s not so much about hating Christmas, but about accepting that life goes on and that Christmas is still part of that. The tone is generally sombre, but Wardrop has pulled off something of a Christmas miracle here. He’s found the right balance between bittersweetness and hope, the Christmas candle in the darkness. It’s also a beautifully shot and scored evocation of quiet rural life in modern Ireland. It’s Wardrop’s most mature and enlightening film yet, enough to make one reach out to that family member, friend or neighbour this Christmas. Amen to that.
Rating: 4 / 5
Review by Gareth O’Connor
In short: A Christmas miracle
Directed by Ken Wardrop.