A new addition to The University Times this year, Four Films and a TV, is a very special column giving out very special recommendations. Every month, the editor will be making a list of underappreciated but unparalleled films (four) and (TV) series (one) united by a topical theme, plot device or personality. The intentions of this no-nonsense column range from the dissemination of lesser known films and the promotion of non-Anglophone media to the betterment of film and TV-related choices. For December, the line up is, of course, all things Christmas.
Four Films
Pelíšky (1999)
Prague, 1968. The Šebeks and Krausovs are celebrating Christmas. The Šebeks and Krausovs are neighbours who do not get along. Mr Šebek is a staunch communist and Mr Kraus is a staunch anti-communist. The teenager Michel Šebek is hopelessly in love with Jindřiška Krausová. What could potentially go wrong here? Jan Hřebejk’s Pelíšky (Cosy Dens) is a Czech Christmas favourite. An adaptation of the novel Hovno Hoři (Shit on Fire), it is funnier, cozier and more sensitive than you’d expect. The film is available on Youtube (with English subtitles) for free.
Fanny and Alexander (1982)
Swedish master-filmmaker Ingmar Bergman’s Fanny and Alexander is the story of two siblings experiencing a tumultuous time: the death of their father and their mother’s subsequent remarrying. Although centred on darker themes, the film is laced with the imagination of childhood and the magic of Christmas: from lantern shows and toy theatres to family festivities and lavish dinners. The Light House is even screening this on December 23rd.
Merry Christmas (2024)
All Christmases need a good old love story and a few murders. Sriram Raghavan’s 2024 mystery thriller (adapted from Frédéric Dard’s Le Monte-charge) spans one night in 1980s Bombay on which the recently-released convict Albert is invited by the beautiful stranger Maria to celebrate Christmas at her place. This gorgeously shot and even more intelligently scripted film will keep you wondering exactly what is happening until the very end.
So this is Christmas (2023)
The Christmas column wouldn’t be complete without an Irish film. Ken Wardrop’s Christmas is unlike any other. For his characters, in a quiet Irish town, the season is extra, excessive and expensive, and the celebrations are about fitting-in. What does it mean when Christmas becomes a mandatory obligation? In a fictional documentary format, Wardrop spotlights ordinary Irish lives in their yuletide humour, warmth, melancholies and joys. I promise this will leave you sobbing.
And a TV
A Trinity of Christmas
This edition recommends not one but three festive watches: the best of Christmas episodes that can be enjoyed as stand-alones: (in no particular order) 1. Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas, season two episode 11, Community (the study group all turn into stop-motion characters and it is up to Abed to bring about the “most successful Christmas”); 2. Reply 1988, episode seven (the neighbourhood kids unwrap Secret Santa presents while some secret romantic feelings become apparent); 3. How the Ghosts Stole Christmas, season six episode six, The X-Files (Monster-of-the-Week story with Scully and Mulder investigating a house haunted by lovelorn ghosts).
