With the first day of winter on its way but cold and snow already falling all over Canada, we bring you a cozy little list of recommendations for what to watch all season long. This time of year can bring about a lot of different and conflicting feelings for people, and in our current global … situation, this seems a lot more likely. Make sure to take the time to rest and recharge, perhaps with something from this list, which features seven full-length films and three animated shorts.
Starting off strong we have our professor feature from Dr. Kester Dyer, who is recommending Claire L’hiver (2017) directed by Sophie Bédard Marcotte.
As a malfunctioning cargo spaceship is threatening to crash to the Earth, Claire is going through a difficult Winter.
“In keeping with the theme of winter, I would like to recommend Claire l’hiver (Winter Claire) for this chilly and dark month. This film is the first feature-length fiction by Québec filmmaker Sophie Bédard Marcotte. It premiered at the Festival du nouveau cinéma in 2017, screened at a number of other national and international festivals, and was short-listed for the Prix collégial du cinéma québécois in 2019.
Claire l’hiver is a quirky and playful piece which follows Claire, a recently graduated photographer in her early twenties, as she brushes off a series of personal and career disappointments while slogging through the depressing months of a Québec winter. Though the subject-matter of seasonal ennui and self-doubt doesn’t make for an action-packed narrative, Bédard Marcotte imbues the film with her idiosyncratically self-deprecating, but ultimately uplifting humour. This tone is achieved in part through formal inventiveness. The film’s first-person perspective is sprinkled with animated sequences and Bédard Marcotte herself plays the title character, whom she renders in a personal, unpretentious and relatable way. As such, this film reveals a fresh and talented voice to look out for among the next generation of Québec filmmakers. If you enjoy Claire l’hiver and are curious to see more of Bédard Marcotte’s work (but crave warmer content), check out L.A. Tea Time (2019). Something of a companion piece, this film takes Bédard Marcotte (along with her director of photography) on a road trip away from the Montreal winter and across the United States, through a series of unusual encounters…”
Running 65 minutes, Claire l’hiver is available to rent or buy on Vimeo.
Here we have the first Feature Friday film to be recommended by two students at once: Tangerine (2015, Sean Baker) is an unconventional Christmas movie that is notable for being shot using iPhone tech. It stars Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Mya Taylor, and Karren Karagulian.
It’s Christmas Eve in Tinseltown and Sin-Dee is back on the block. Upon hearing that her pimp boyfriend hasn’t been faithful during the 28 days she was locked up, the working girl and her best friend, Alexandra, embark on a mission to get to the bottom of the scandalous rumour. Their rip-roaring odyssey leads them through various subcultures of Los Angeles, including an Armenian family dealing with their own repercussions of infidelity.
One of the students who recommended Tangerine elaborates: “Centring around two transgender sex workers, Tangerine serves as a reminder that Christmas is not just limited to well-off white people (as almost every traditional Christmas classic would have you believe), and that the holiday looks very different for those with less privileged lives. Watching Tangerine is a roller coaster of emotions, with scenes ranging from funny, shocking, and melancholic; but at the end, the classic Christmas spirit of kindness and generosity prevails, as we get a sense of how much our protagonists truly need each other to make it through the holiday. Tangerine is very much a Christmas movie, albeit one that expands the horizons of what a Christmas story can be.”
Tangerine runs 88 minutes and is available to stream on Hoopla, as well as to rent on iTunes, Youtube, and Google Play.
A yuletide classic, The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992, Brian Henson) brings a hefty dose of nostalgia for many, which might be exactly what everyone needs right about now.
A retelling of the classic Dickens tale of Ebenezer Scrooge, miser extraordinaire. He is held accountable for his dastardly ways during night-time visitations by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future.
It’s been nearly 30 years since The Muppet Christmas Carol’s debut, yet it remains as timeless as ever, as capitalism’s clutches on nearly every holiday continue. However, there’s still hope! With loud proclamations for shopping small, and shopping local, perhaps we have a chance of not all becoming the next Ebenezer Scrooge — as long as we remember the lessons taught to us through the Muppet’s version of Christmas Past, Present, and Future.
The Muppet Christmas Carol runs 89 minutes and is available to stream on Disney+, as well as to rent on various services such as iTunes, YouTube, Google Play, and the Cineplex Store.
Without fail, Die Hard (1988, John McTiernan) and Die Hard 2 (1990, Renny Harlin) will show up on various channels throughout the holiday season. And to drive that point home, an anonymous film professor has given his two cents on why. Perhaps you can get bonus points for figuring out who?
Forty stories. Twelve terrorists. One cop.
“Yippe ki yay, it’s Christmas, and there’s only two Christmas movies to see: Die Hard and Die Hard 2. The last one is directed by Renny Harlin, a Finnish guy who knows all about snow, but also how to spin a wild action-packed Christmas yarn. Merry Christmas. Ho ho ho!”
Die Hard and Die Hard 2 are available to stream on Crave or to rent/buy in various places such as the Cineplex Store, Amazon, iTunes, YouTube, and Google Play. If you’re looking for a double feature watching both films would only be 257 minutes (or 132 and 125, respectively).
Brazil (1985), directed by Tery Gilliam, is another unconventional Christmas recommendation that might be worth your watch this year. It stars Jonathan Pryce, Kim Greist, and Robert DeNiro.
Low-level bureaucrat Sam Lowry escapes the monotony of his day-to-day life through a recurring daydream of himself as a virtuous hero saving a beautiful damsel. Investigating a case that led to the wrongful arrest and eventual death of an innocent man instead of wanted terrorist Harry Tuttle, he meets the woman from his daydream, and in trying to help her gets caught in a web of mistaken identities, mindless bureaucracy and lies.
According to the student who recommended the film, Brazil is “one of the best Christmas movies ever that no one seems to acknowledge as a Christmas movie even though it objectively is one” and “nothing screams ‘Christmas spirit’ quite like late-stage capitalism and mass consumerism.”
Brazil runs 143 minutes and is available to stream on Hoopla as well as to rent/buy on services like iTunes and Google Play.
With a surplus of imagination, writer and director Eusong Lee brings My Moon (2018), a roughly eight-minute animated short about Earth’s relationship with the Sun and Moon.
The story revolves around the sad nature of the way they have to co-exist, as Earth needs both emotional and practical values from both the Sun and Moon.
With a smooth and compelling animation style and beautiful sound design, My Moon is a creative and poignant story. The story may be about the Sun and Moon but it speaks on a larger scale about a desire for connection and understanding. It is available to watch in 4k on Vimeo (here).
A collection of five films, the Small Axe miniseries (2020) is directed by Steve McQueen and stars John Boyega, Sheyi Cole, and Shaun Parkes.
An anthology series of five stories looking at the lives of a group of friends and their families in London’s West Indian community from the late 1960s to the early 80s.
Recommended by a Carleton graduate, this miniseries gives body to truth and tells the history of a divided Britain. Available to watch on Amazon Prime, its episodes so far have been described as kinetic, intricate, and engrossing. There are currently three episodes available to stream: “Mangrove,” “Lovers Rock,” and “Red, White and Blue.”
A three-minute animated short, VIA (2017) which is directed by Izzy Burton, set to a poem by Rachel Cladingbowl and read by Harry Ditson. It is a reminder of the small glimmers of hope that can be found in any situation; something that is sorely needed right now.
A short animated film that tells the journey of life through the use of epic, beautiful environments and meaningful character animation. It shows how we should open our eyes to the good things that happen every day, to the experiences we share with the people we love, and the silver linings and the lessons to be learnt in even the lowest times.
With a beautiful colour palette and touching story, VIA is an amazing short film, and one that I hope will lift you up this December. It carries a gentle and careful reminder that growing old is not something to be feared but cherished. This holiday season is strange for many — some unable to visit family or participate in other traditions — but there is still peace to be found in a midnight snowfall, the timely boil of a kettle, or a crisp winter wind. You can watch VIA on Vimeo (here).
Henry Selick’s stop motion feature The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) is a Halloween and a Christmas movie all rolled into one, so why not add it to your watchlist this season for a bit of spooky holiday fun?
Tired of scaring humans every October 31 with the same old bag of tricks, Jack Skellington, the spindly king of Halloween Town, kidnaps Santa Claus and plans to deliver shrunken heads and other ghoulish gifts to children on Christmas morning. But as Christmas approaches, Jack’s rag-doll girlfriend, Sally, tries to foil his misguided plans.
An animated musical perhaps unlike any other, the darkly comical animation is matched with creepy yet jubilant songs, leading to a strange and wondrous journey. Running 76 minutes, it is available to stream on Disney+ or to rent/buy at various locations.
The last recommendation is a roughly six-minute animated short, called isle of Chair ‘椅島 ’(2020) written, designed, and directed by Ivyy Chen. One of my personal recommendations, I found it spoke to me in a quite unexpected way, and I wonder if it might do the same for you.
On a secluded island, a chair has fallen down.
在一個與世隔絕的小島上，有一把椅子緩緩倒下
A soothing animated short that which I’m not quite sure I understand — and yet understanding isn’t necessary. A chair can be many things: something to sit on, to stand on, to paint, to create. This short examines what a chair means and much, much more, with its stunningly stylized animation and score. isle of Chair is available to watch on on Vimeo (here).
And like all good things, the December rec list draws to a close. I hope that some of these recommendations will spark your interest, and bring you joy in this strange month. All the feature film synopses were taken from Letterboxd and the animated shorts from Vimeo. Many thanks to fellow Carleton students and alumni for providing the different films on this list, and to Dr. Dyer for his well worded and thoughtful recommendation.
The theme for January will be new beginnings, but feel free to submit anything that you’ve been enjoying. Whether it’s a short film, movie, or series, we would love to hear about it. You can either leave a comment here or message @ mycufilm on Twitter/Instagram.
This blog post was written by Lily Inskip-Shesnicky, a third-year film studies student at Carleton University and the CU Film social media manager.
