Here are five heart-warming holiday films that remind us, in refreshing ways, of the joy and love that define the season of giving.
While some people are planning overseas holiday trips filled with adventure, others might just want to relax in the comfort of their homes and surrounded by loved ones this Christmas break. And what better way to spend time with the ones you hold dear than by watching fun, feel-good holiday films together?
There’s no shortage of festive classics out there, but if you’re looking for something other than mainstays like the Home Alone movies, Elf, The Santa Clause, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas, you’re in the right place. Here are five films that explore the essence of the season in refreshing ways through their charming narratives—who knows, one of them may just be the newest addition to your list of festive classics.
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The Holdovers
Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers isn’t just a new Christmas favorite—it also happens to be one of the most critically-acclaimed ones, having scored five Oscar nominations during the recent 96th Academy Awards. For fans of the “chosen family” trope, this one may just satisfy with its touching story of a diverse cast of characters in a New England boarding school banding together to form one unique bond. Think The Breakfast Club meets The Dead Poets Society, but a lot more festive.
Set in the 1970s, the movie follows three lonely people stranded in the school over Christmas break, including Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti), a grumpy adjunct professor of ancient history; Mary Lamb (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), the head cook of the school; and Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa), a student with a penchant for mischief yet ultimately has a good head on his shoulders. Nothing grand really happens, and that’s the point: the film focuses on the power of connection, and the layers hidden within each person that one can only appreciate if they reach out and see past their ostensible differences.
The Holiday
Enjoy your holidays with a generous serving of romance and comedy? Then 2005’s The Holiday is a good place to start, if you haven’t already watched it (but it’s certainly worth a yearly rewatch). British journalist Iris (Kate Winslet) is still yearning for her cheating ex-boyfriend and co-worker Japser. Meanwhile, LA-based movie trailer editor Amanda (Cameron Diaz) needs a break after her composer boyfriend also cheats on her. In a chance encounter on a home swap website, the two agree to lend their respective abodes to each other in an attempt to take a break and heal from everything. What they don’t expect is to fall in love—Iris with composer Miles (Jack Black) and Amanda with Iris’ brother Graham (Jude Law).
It’s a classic romantic comedy, but done in all the right ways. It’s not every day where you see Black as a rom-com lead, but after watching the film, you’ll start to wonder why he hasn’t starred in more. Law also gives his best swoon-worthy performances, while Winslet and Diaz are the film’s perfectly flawed, charming female protagonists that truly ground the storyline. The romance is just the right amount of sappy, set to a scintillating score by the legendary Hans Zimmer. Beyond the love stories, there are also a couple of tear-jerking scenes that focus on the beauty of Iris’ budding friendship with an elderly, Oscar-winning screenwriter.
Spirited
Most people are familiar with Charles Dickens’ famous holiday novel, A Christmas Carol — and the story has seen its fair share of adaptations. The tale is timeless for a reason, chronicling the fantastical journey of wealthy yet miserly, curmudgeon Ebenizer Scrooge as he learns to become a better person through the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future.
2022’s Spirited is one of the story’s most contemporary iterations, set in modern day and centered on the wealthy, jaded, and cold-hearted media consultant Clint Briggs (Ryan Reynolds). The ghosts, as they always do year after year, attempt to change Clint’s ways for the better—yet he proves to be a tougher nut to crack, leading the Ghost of Christmas Present (Will Ferrell) to take matters into his own hands. Antics and revelations ensue in a hilarious Broadway-style musical movie that evokes the spirit of a classic while still keeping things fresh.
Klaus
You’d think you know the story of Santa Claus by now with the countless films about him—but there’s always a new angle to a story, and the Oscar-nominated 2D-animated film Klaus is testament to this. Aside from its stunning visuals, the movie boasts a delightfully heart-warming storyline that embodies the spirit of the season.
Jesper Johansen is the spoiled son of the Royal Postmaster General in 19th-century Norway. To teach his son to be a better professional and person, he sends Jesper to the small, isolated island town of Smeerenburg with the task of setting up a post office and sending 6,000 letters annually. The job proves to be a difficult one, as its townspeople are resistant to change and wary of new faces, disenchanted with their lives in the harsh snowy landscape with two feuding families. Somewhere along the way, Jesper meets and befriends the toymaker Klaus; the two work together to send toys to kids, incentivizing them to send more letters and get Jesper closer to his goal so he can leave the town.
Klaus isn’t just an imaginative re-telling or speculation of the Santa Claus myths—it’s also a story about the gift of interpersonal relationships. Here, the main character doesn’t get what he wants, but rather, what he truly needs.
Tokyo Godfathers
Also an animated film, the late Japanese director Satoshi Kon’s Tokyo Godfathers is an unconventional yet much-needed Christmas story about connection, and of course, family. Its uniqueness begins with its own protagonists and premise: three homeless people living in Tokyo find a newborn baby in a garbage can during the holidays and set out to find its family.
What happens next is a whirlwind journey that takes them—alcoholic Gin, teen runaway Miyuki, and transgender woman Hana—through the city, meeting a wide range of strange characters and learning more about their inner lives. As the story unfolds, audiences discover the circumstances that had led these three unlikely protagonists to where they are, which gives their actions more depth and meaning.
Though Kon is not known for producing feel-good films (his breakthroughs being the thrillers Perfect Blue and Paprika), and this movie has its fair share of darker, somber moments, it ends on a hopeful note that satisfyingly ties together all its strange yet charming plot points. Altogether, it’s a story about outcasts finding family in each other and banding together with the shared goal of finding a baby’s loved ones—the perfect set up to a memorable Christmas film.
Banner photo from Netflix.
