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Already well into December 2008, and it seems there's little interest in holiday viewing? Okay, so my last recommendation wasn't the greatest so here goes a couple more.

Empire of The Sun

Yes there is a XMAS connection and it takes place in Asia so allow me to suggest this Hollywood big screen treatment of J.G. Ballard's semi-autobiographical novel of an English brat's surreal childhood in pre-WWII Shanghai. Jamie (J.G.) is enamored with aviation and Japanese military prowess as he grew up in a setting where the hot topic was continuing Japanese expansion on the Chinese mainland.

For the Western Powers, the Second World War in the Pacific began December 8^th, 1941 local time. It's remembered in the U.S. as December 7^th. So where is the Christmas connection in this movie? First, the story begins in December. Secondly, the English schoolboy Jamie attends a Christmas party on December 7th at the British embassy in the International Settlement. In keeping with English custom, he along with many of the children are dressed up in fun costumes for the celebration. Keep a sharp eye out for the street scene while Jamie is being chauffeured to the party -- for a moment, the audience will catch a glimpse of a young German in the uniform of the local Shanghai chapter of the Hitler Youth. This young Jerry isn't dressed for a Christmas party --he's dressed for the Nazi Party. Meanwhile Jamie is costumed in a fantasy Arabian outfit with turban and pointy curled toe shoes. It's here at the party that he loses his toy glider over the embankment and then has his encounter with the massed Japanese infantry preparing for the commencement of hostilities against Britain and the United States. This movie was one of first big budget Hollywood productions made on location in China. Stephen Spielberg is a big name director and no doubt his reputation facilitated the cooperation of the Chinese authorities in the making of this movie. EOTS was not a box office smash but has since gone on to be a video success. Be warned that there are a lot of the usual Spielberg's pet themes and idiosyncracies in this movie. Oh yeah, there are also some fine character actors such as Miranda Richardson, Nigel Havers, John Malkovich, and Joe Pantoglioni. The best part was seeing young pre-teen Christian Bale before he grew up to play characters such as Batman, Dieter Dengler, and the American Psycho.

As a second seasonal recommendation, allow me to suggest the late Jim Henson's:

The Christmas Toy

Pixar should be ashamed of themselves for ripping off this television special as Toy Story. You'll discover Rugby and Meteora were the inspiration for Woody and Buzz Lightyear respectively. This little movie did not feature any of the well-known puppeteers or charcters from either Seasame Street or The Muppet Show but it has that unique Creature Shop charm that Henson imbued all his creations with. The songs were weak though. This is kiddie stuff but there is some sophisticated adult appeal in its storytelling appraoch The special was produced several years before Henson's untimely death from a raging pneumonia infection and his personal touch is still evident in this pre-Disney period. I'm surprised that HK has not ripped this one off yet.

Well there you go, another two holiday movies in addition to Single Blog that I hope will elicit some reader interest out there in forum land. Is anyone reading this?

Yinique wrote:

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Gee, it's that time of year again? Time sure flies.

For some reason, a totally obscure movie came to mind (so obscure I had to go look up the title): Mr. Fortune, a really cheesy typical 80's comedy starring Anthony Chan Yau and Chingmy Yau. I think they dress up in Santa gear at one point. Plus, if I remember correctly Anthony's character is a toy designer so there's lots of fluffy bears, toy trains, etc. Awful movie. My parents probably still have it on VHS somewhere.

Outside of movies, I've always loved "A Muppet Family Christmas" Come to think of it, haven't seen that one in a while. *sigh* I miss the Muppets.

AlHaru -

You're right. An HK Home Alone ripoff would never happen because the Christmas season doesn't mean anything to non-Christian Chinese. Even as a secularized shopping season it can't compare to the Lunar New Year. So it can't be set in Christmas then how about leaving a kid behind when the parents are heading to the grandparents home during Chinese New Year? Forget it, just another of my random thoughts.

That's an interesting fact that HK audiences don't favor kiddie movies when the culture is especially kid indulgent.

Die Hard 2! Awright! Another great XMAS movie! Nothing like crazy John McLain action for the holidays instead of the usual holiday chewing gum movies.

Okay, and now a tip of the hat and a drum roll for AlHaru who discussed Empire of the Sun with me in the Non-Asian film forum. Here is my suggestion for another unlikely XMAS movie inspired by that thread:

Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (UK/Japan 1983)

It's been years since I've seen the movie but I recall how provocative and moving a story it was about the clash between British & Commonwealth POWs against the brutality of their captors in a Japanese prison camp during WW2. The cast features Tom Conti, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Takeshi Kitano, and David Bowie as the protagonists. It may be a "war movie" but it will get the viewer thinking a lot about the cultures and personalities in conflict. It's quite unlike any prison movie. And the line "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence" is uttered. Just writing about this film has got me motivated to want to see it again.