Admittedly, Christmas Day or New Year’s Eve rarely resembles quite the extravagant affair that it is on the grand screens – but maximalist films are a great way to spread a little of the festive cheer.
Despite having no Hugh Grant or Jude Law in sight, this list was surprisingly difficult to narrow down to ten films, out of a hefty list of very great (mainly black-and-white) contenders. From hooking up with your best friend to family dramas around the dining table, sea-side strolls in France arm-in-arm with a charming suitor, and some serious festive outfit inspiration, these are the films you’ll want to add to your watch list over the holidays.
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
It’s 1964, and a young couple (the daughter of an umbrella shop owner and a young auto mechanic) fall in love in a small town (Cherbourg) in France, but life (and the Algerian war) step in the way, until they meet again one Christmas Eve. The film is a musical (as most of the classics are) narrating this romance via both opera and stage musical-like soundtracks. Starring silver screen icon, Catherine Deneuve, and directed by Nouvelle Vague’s Jacques Demy, the film won Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or when it was first released.
Christmas in Connecticut
Warner Brothers Pictures Distributing Corporation, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
This is a very warming winter movie, with the unexpected romances and war-hero celebrations that the most promising of 1940s love stories could offer. A woman is a writer for a city magazine. For the sake of her column (all in the name of research!) she flocks to a farm in Connecticut to discover what it means to be a farm wife, while actually falling in love in the process. There are some great scenes around one of the most maximally-decorated Christmas trees you might have ever seen.
Metropolitan
Gossip Girl gave us a dramatised glimpse into the extravagant lifestyles of Upper East Siders in our digital age, while Nine Metropolitan takes it back a few decades to the 1990s. Kind of like a Jane Austen social-climbing, romantic drama but set in New York amongst the young and the rich, Nine Metropolitan takes place during the Christmas break and follows the group as they host, socialise and converse around New York City’s most magical season.
White Christmas (1954)
Trailer screenshot, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
By Michael Curtiz (best known during the remaining 11 months of the year for 1942 romantic drama Casablanca), this musical drama takes a different approach to festive romance, following the bromance between Captain Bob Wallace and Private Phil Davis who enter the Christmas Eve soldier’s show during World War Two. The war ends, but their performances continue… Plus, the film stars Bing Crosby whose voice is the soundtrack of the holidays, old-school style.
When Harry Met Sally
Every year when December comes around, I can be quoted referencing “the scene where they carry the Christmas tree through New York” from When Harry Met Sally as the moodboard for my month’s festivities. The New York City backdrop, the snow, the bushier-than-necessary Christmas tree, the best friends who become lovers – what isn’t to dream about. Plus, it all comes to a romantic head on New Year’s Eve – a holiday movie for sure.
The Lady In The Lake
English: Jacket drawn by Norman Reeves., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
From the 1930s to the 1950s, fictional sleuth Philippe Marlowe governed the shelves and screens thanks to writer Raymond Chandler. Lady in the Lake is a film-noir adaptation of one of these vivid stories. A murder mystery set to the backdrop of Christmas, after a woman is found in a lake it all starts to topple out one Christmas party after another, with lots of twists and turns along the way.
It Happened On 5th Avenue
A wealthy man harbouring his assets – scrooge undertones for sure – learns from the poor in a classic tale of class and Christmas. As two homeless men reside in this rich man’s second home without his knowledge, they are discovered by the runaway daughter who then falls in love. Family, money, humility, love – it all comes back around in this festive tale.
All I Want For Christmas (1991)
Christmas movies always come back to two things – family and love. But when does a family represent that traditional, nuclear family set up? It doesn’t in this film – quite unique for the 1930s. This movie really taps into the former, as two siblings growing up in New York plead with Father Christmas to reunite their separated parents for the festive period. Where do the powers of Santa Claus end?
It’s A Wonderful Life
“Copyright 1946 RKO Radio Pictures Inc.”, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
A story within a story within a story, this 1946 film is based on a short story The Greatest Gift which is inspired by Charles Dickens’ Christmas mainstay, A Christmas Carol. A depressed young man is welcomed by a guardian angel, who re-shows him the successes and tender moments of his life so far, and the rest follows throughout the fantasy drama.
And So They Were Married (1936)
Quite unusual for a widower and a divorcee to be allowed another chance at love on the screens (and in the 1930s too, when divorce and re-marriage was still largely a taboo), but in this film, they are. A snowstorm surrounding their hotel across the holidays helps hurry things along – despite the children’s plans to intercept things.
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