Fanny and Alexander (1982)
“not solely for pleasure” as the opening scene tells us because yes, that’s not a Christmas film. Instead, it’s a complex and often confronting story about grief, autonomy, and navigating the course of one’s life. The real and the fantastic blur, as the film combines the magic and the horror of classic fairytales: Alexander confronts his ghosts, while his mother, Emilie, attempts to free herself from a tyrannical husband. The uncut version runs 312 minutes (even the shorter version is 3 hours long) -we certainly appreciate how European cinema often resists the 2-hour timeframe typical of American films. The length of the film allows us to follow characters closely, including moments of stillness and contemplation that add emotional layers and expand the inner worlds of many among the film’s sprawling cast, to the point that they seem almost tangible.
Director: Ingmar Bergman
Director of Photography: Sven Nykvist
Production Design: Anna Asp
Costume Design: Marik Vos-Lundh
The Tales of Hoffmann (1951)
Not a Christmas movie per se, but not not one too! It certainly ticks all the boxes: lush interiors, extravagant costumes, dance and music. It’s Jacques Offenbach’s fantasy opera, in which a poet dreams of three women—a mechanical performing doll, a bejeweled siren, and the consumptive daughter of a famous composer—all of whom break his heart in different ways.
Director: Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger
Director of Photography: Christopher Challis
Production Design: Hein Heckroth
Costume Design: Ivy Baker
Art Direction: Arthur Lawson
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
The warmth of Christmas here perfectly contrasts with the malaise of Bill and Alice’s domestic life. Eyes Wide Shut is a mesmerising cinematic dream which follows Harford as he embarks on bizarre psychosexual adventures after he finds out that his wife had thought about indulging in an extra-marital affair. Perhaps Christmas is paralleled with the ancient Roman holiday of Saturnalia here, a feast characterized by a carnival-like atmosphere where gambling was permitted, and masters served their slaves at the table. Saturnalia was the Roman equivalent of the earlier Greek holiday Kronia (Κρόνια).
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Director of Photography: Larry Smith
Production Design: Leslie Tomkins & Roy Walker
Costume Design: Marit Allen
Little Women (2019)
The handsome, wood-clad Orchard House exudes warmth, with garlands adorned with dried orange slices draped across every mantel and door, candles flickering on the tree, and paper stars hanging from the ceiling. The story follows the lives of the 4 March sisters—Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—as they journey from childhood to womanhood. What truly enriches the film is its meticulous attention to detail during production. The filmmakers used original 1800s recipes, relied solely on candlelight for illumination, and recreated Louisa May Alcott’s world with remarkable authenticity.
Director: Greta Gerwig
Director of Photography: Yorick Le Saux
Production Design: Jess Gonchor
Costume Design: Jacqueline Durran
Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Initially conceived from a lonely childhood in suburban California, Tim Burton’s modern fairytale follows the “uncommonly gentle man” down from his home -an abandoned large gothic castle- to the pastel-coloured neighbourhood with identical green lawns, beneath its driveway. There, Edward becomes a sensation but soon learns the dangers of a world designed for those afforded opposable thumbs. The film is like a classic, dark fairy tale, and it’s all framed by an old woman telling the story to her granddaughter one late snowy night. Right from the beginning the film has a surreal, magical quality to it also captured in its score, that is reminiscent of classic holiday ghost stories.
Director: Tim Burton
Director of Photography: Stefan Czapsky
Production Design: Bo Welch
Costume Design: Colleen Atwood
Tell us in the comments which movies set you in the mood for Christmas but are not what we call “Christmas films”!