A joyous time of year, the holidays serve as a moment to wind down and relax with loved ones. Besides delicious dinners and familial bickering, watching movies is a yearly pastime for many households. However, watching the same films over and over again every year can get tiresome.
While films like Die Hard and Home Alone are part of the Christmas movie canon, many other beloved films aren't associated with the genre despite being set during Christmastime. Whether because they don't draw too much attention to the holiday or their divisive themes, it's a little surprising to learn that these movies also employ the holiday spirit.
'In Bruges' (2008)
A certain holiday magic enlivens Martin McDonagh's feature film debut, In Bruges. Set and filmed in the Belgian city of Bruges, the black comedy follows a pair of hit men in hiding after one of them accidentally shoots a young boy. With McDonagh's distinctive brand of violence and outrageous humor, In Bruges has become a classic.
Elements of the film, such as the overtly Christmassy backdrop and small-town European whimsy, point to the fact that this is a movie for the holidays. While there is no family representation in the film, the movie shows the bond that can form between friends during that period of the year. Although In Bruges captures the chaos and loneliness that can come with the holiday times, it also displays the beauty.
'Carol' (2015)
After receiving a ten-minute standing ovation after premiering at the Cannes Film Festival, Carol was lauded by critics and pronounced by many publications as one of the year's finest films. As well acted as it is visually mesmerizing, Carol stars Cate Blanchett as a glamorous New York woman who strikes up a forbidden love affair with an aspiring female photographer.
If the title doesn't give away that this is a Christmas movie, the opening scene will, where Blanchett's Carol Aird wanders through a Frankberg's department store at Christmas looking for a present for her daughter. The film, which was controversially snubbed from Best Picture and Director at the Academy Awards, remains a serious adult drama that is suitable to watch this time of year.
'Edward Scissorhands' (1990)
The most personal movie from director Tim Burton, Edward Scissorhands, has been a favorite of families since its release in 1989. Starring Johnny Depp as the titular character, Edward Scissorhands follows an artificial humanoid with scissors for hands who gets taken in by a suburban family.
While you couldn't tell from the first two-thirds of the film, Edward Scissorhands is certainly a film for the holidays. Plot-wise, the final third of the film is centered around a Christmas party and even shows Kim (Winona Ryder) making snow angels with Edward. However, more than that, the movie illustrates the feeling of being an outsider or black sheep in a family during the holidays.
'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang' (2005)
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a comeback for everyone involved, most notoriously its director and star. A tongue-in-cheek satire of the hard-boiled detective genre, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang stars Robert Downey Jr as a struggling actor who unwillingly gets involved in a murder plot.
The directorial debut of famed screenwriter Shane Black, who hadn't penned a film in nine years, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a non-traditional Christmas movie. Like many modern neo-noirs, the movie is set in Los Angeles, a far cry from the winter wonderlands that are the setting for other holiday pictures. However, the environment perfectly displays the fish out of water feeling of being alone during the holiday season.
'The Long Kiss Goodnight' (1996)
There's nothing Shane Black loves more than Christmas in LA. His predecessor to Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, The Long Kiss Goodnight stars Geena Davis as a woman with amnesia who, along with the help of a private detective, sets out to recover her true identity.
Like other holiday classics such as Die Hard, or Black's own Lethal Weapon, The Long Kiss Goodnight is a buddy cop movie set at Christmastime. Its score and set design also pull no punches, eluding that this film is one for the holidays. Above all, its theme of family is the overarching factor that resonates when you watch it this time of year.
'The Apartment' (1961)
Inducted into the Library of Congress in 1994, The Apartment is frequently cited as one of the best films of all time. 1961's Best Picture winner stars Jack Lemmon as an insurance clerk who falls in love with an elevator operator, played by Shirley MacLaine. Directed by the great Billy Wilder, the film has been heralded over the years for its combination of charm and sentimentality.
In The Apartment, standard holiday elements such as reindeer and elves are few and far between. Instead, the holiday season is apparent from the binge drinking of mulled wine and office parties. While set largely around Christmas Eve, The Apartment is a holiday film because it encapsulates the feeling of the holidays, a mixture of love, loneliness, melancholy, and hope.
'Three Days of the Condor' (1975)
Three Days of the Condor is becoming underrated. A classic '70s conspiracy thriller, Three Days of the Condor stars Robert Redford as a CIA researcher who comes back from work one day to find his colleagues murdered. With Faye Dunaway as Redford's co-star and love interest, the film became a big hit and became one of the genre's defining films.
The holiday season is only a tertiary element to Three Days of the Condor, but it is a necessary juxtaposition, contrasting the normalcy of Christmas with the wariness of Redford. The film's holiday pedigree is even approved by Quentin Tarantino, who plays the film every Christmas at his New Beverly Cinema.
'Trading Places' (1983)
Considered a comedy classic, Trading Places was first conceived in the early 1980s and planned to star Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder. In the end, the film couldn't have had a more perfect pair than Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy. In the film, Aykroyd plays a wealthy broker while Murphy places a street hustler who is tested to see how they would handle each other's situations.
The film is littered with holiday-themed high jinks, including a pivotal scene where Aykroyd dresses up as Santa to sneak into his company's Christmas party. The film's sentiment about understanding others' circumstances and the idea of wealth and greed is also very relevant. It allows the film to act as a relevant parable during the holidays.
'Eyes Wide Shut' (1999)
Eyes Wide Shut is not a film for the whole family. Stanley Kubrick's complex, difficult and brilliant final film is one that fans have obsessed over almost as much as Kubrick did himself. Starring the "it" couple of 1999, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, Eyes Wide Shut follows Cruise's Dr. Harford, who embarks on a journey through the night after hearing his wife fantasize about having an affair.
The source material, Arthur Schnitzler's controversial 1926 novella Dream Story, is set in Vienna during Mardi Gras. Keeping with the holiday theme, Kubrick sets his film in New York during Christmas. Knowing Kubrick's meticulousness, the holiday setting is critical to the film's overall message and ideas. The rest of the film may distract some viewers from its Christmas sentiment, but Eyes Wide Shut is a holiday classic to watch once the kids clear out.
'The Princess Bride'
Adapted by the legendary screenwriter William Goldman from his novel, The Princess Bride grew from its modest box office numbers to become a cult film following its release to home video. Presented in a metafictional style, the story revolves around a modest farmhand who must rescue Princess Buttercup from the villainous Prince Humperdinck.
Nothing about The Princess Bride's main narrative has any relation to the holidays. The film is a fantasy set in the fictional kingdom of Florin and features made-up royalty with fanciful names. However, this is all a fictional tale that an elderly grandfather reads to his grandson during the holiday season. This story of the grandfather and grandson shows that the story of the holidays is all a myth meant to bring people closer together.