It all started with a debate within the editorial staff: is Die Hard with Bruce Willis a Christmas film? And in the battle between the defenders of yes and no another question arose: but what is a Christmas film? To answer these crucial questions, we called on a quality panel aka you, our readers.
For starters, a good Christmas movie always takes place during the holidays. A first indicator which responds perfectly Crystal trap. Then, for the majority of our contributors, it illustrates the importance of family in this period, another ingredient that tips the scales in its favor. “The hero wants to win back the woman he loves and reform his family. He arrives with a giant bear as a gift. After many adventures, John McClane finds his wife and children and restores hope and faith around him with Agent Powell who finds his vocation in the profession of police officer,” believes Alexandre. “In my eyes it’s obvious, the best Christmas film is Die Hard. Action, humor and snowflakes, it’s everything,” summarizes Jean-François.
If you’re not yet convinced, here’s another argument to tempt you: a good Christmas movie, we’ll never come back to it again and we’ll grow old with it. And many will enjoy the adventures in Nakatomi Plaza. For fans of detective films, Françoise recommends “the exciting” The Murder of Santa Clauswith Harry Baur, in 1941.
Love Actuallythe Christmas comforter
What would Christmas be without its dose of cartoons? We’re skipping Disney – we love them, but we know them – to share with you THE most highly recommended animated film: The strange Christmas of Mr. Jack by Tim Burton. He “goes through the years well, the songs are nice and the morals are not too forbidding at the end,” believes Gabriel.
In 2003, a British romantic comedy set on Christmas Eve captured Jess’s heart, so much so that she used the music “for her wedding”: Love Actually. Love, complications and a dose of “marshmallow” that many of our contributors, including Eric, dive back into “without hesitation” every year. “ Love Actually is for me the most powerful there is. The magic of Christmas is the common thread and the different love stories are all fantastic,” Hélène raves. Special mention to two other darling romances in our comments: Last Christmas And The Holidays.
Funny classics of the genre
Be careful, a Christmas film is not limited to just one genre. We can just as easily love explosions in a building, lightning strikes, or a child forgotten every year on the day we go on vacation. Do you see where we’re going with this? The saga Mom, I missed the plane!, with Kévin, was acclaimed by several of our readers.
“I’ve been with my darling for 17 years and every year we watch Mom, I missed the plane!. Initially, it was the two of us and since then with our 3 children aged 12, 6 and 4,” says Magali. The little family prefers the second one in New York with the illuminations. “In fact, one year we will go to New York at Christmas,” she adds. Last Friday, Macaulay Culkin, who plays the former brat and hero of the films, inaugurated his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles on Friday, in the presence of actress Catherine O’Hara who played his mother in the film released thirty-three years ago.
Another funny classic of the genre, the Super Christmas saga. “My sister and I watch Super Christmas every year, a film where Tim Allen, a sarcastic single dad who no longer believes in Santa Claus, finds himself forced to become the new Santa Claus,” says Aline. The two sisters love seeing him take a liking to this new role. They then move on to Miracle on 34th Street, whose “beauty lies in the fact that an adult ends up believing in Santa Claus again.” For those looking for a more Frenchie work, Santa Clause is garbage, the cult film by Jean-Marie Poiré with the Splendid troupe, has been a hit on Netflix since it was put online on November 29. “Seeing him again after more than 30 years made me howl with laughter. This is exceptional ! », writes Brigitte to us.
The antis are also well served
A little dose of horror to end the year, what do you fancy? Biwus wants to offer us a “real breath of fresh air in the middle of the gnangnan romantic films seen and re-watched” with the horror comedy Gremlins by Joe Dante, released in 1984. “The scene during which Kate explains the reason for her distaste for Christmas is cult, and in itself makes me want to watch this film again regularly,” he explains. Etan also likes to take the “opposite side of the innocent and festive side of Christmas with a lot of humor” by watching Violent Night, “a (modestly) gory Christmas movie”. In addition, “blood red is more suited to the party,” he judges.
And what to do when you don’t feel like celebrating? Anne, 42, tells us that she can no longer support films “that want to be Christmassy with current times and inflation”. This ex-fan of Love Actually is now content with “a good family action film, far from good feelings”. Alternatively, you can find your own ritual like Eabha. This fan of Doctor Who Special episodes of the series are repeated every year, while Elodie re-devours Harry Potter. There really is everything to please as many people as possible. Happy Holidays !