My favourite Christmas film: It's A Wonderful Life

It's the ultimate Christmas classic. Sure, it's sappier than a maple tree, but It's A Wonderful Life is just the right sort of schmaltz for the holidays.

The Frank Capra film tells the story of George Bailey, who gets in financial trouble at the bank he works at and attempts to throw himself off a snowy bridge. His guardian angel Clarence intervenes - by throwing himself into the river - and takes George back through his life so he can see what it'd be like if he'd never been born.

Turns out, George is a pretty nice guy. Not only does he save his brother from drowning as a kid, but his own personal sacrifices throughout his life help his community become a wonderful place. But none of that happened in the alternative reality Clarence shows - George's hometown of Bedford Falls becomes derelict, his wife is a spinster, and his war-hero brother is dead.

As George, Jimmy Stewart puts in a boisterous performance, loudly lamenting his depressing fate when the world seems against him, and then bouncing joyfully through the streets when he realizes he has a second chance at life.

Because he's such an awesome guy, the whole town comes out to help him out, and the film ends with everyone - even the sour old bankers who caused the trouble in the first place - singing carols at George's house. A bell rings, and there's the classic line: "Everytime a bell rings, an angel gets his wings."

Simplistic? Sure. Silly? Totally. And a bit odd - and, to the feds at the time, communist - given how many sacrifices George has to make thoughout his life, for the sake of his town and his family. George gives up all his many dreams for everyone else, and ends up stuck in a small town with job he doesn't want. It's really no wonder he wants to off himself.

But you know how at Christmas you set aside all the crap from the rest of the year? You ignore how much your family drives you up the wall, in order to have a good time full of happy memories and nostalgic stories - this is what Christmas is about. Forget the commercial, cynical side, it's about being with the people you care about. It's sentimental, but hey, so is Christmas.

Indeed, the reason this film stands out for me is not so much the exuberant performance by Stewart, or the seasonal message the story offers, but that it's simply always on at Christmas - partially because somebody let the copyright lapse, and every network ran it for free for ages in the 80s. Still, though I've seen it far too many times, it's not the story I remember, but the people I watched it with.

One last thing: it's black and white. Not because it's artsy, but because it really is that old; it's been making the rounds since 1946. However, there are a few colourised versions kicking around, and if you ever have the chance to watch one, do it. The peachy skin tones and other unreal colours give it a weirdly comic book feel, entirely destroying the film in an unintentionally hilarious way.

My favourite xmas film: Batman Returns
My favourite xmas film: Home Alone
My favourite xmas film: Trading Places
My favourite xmas film: Die Hard
My favourite xmas film: Elf
My favourite Christmas TV Programme: Knowing Me, Knowing Yule

23 December 2008