My Review - A Boy Called Christmas
My Rating 8/10
I found this very original retelling of the legend and origins of probably the most loved fictional character ever Father Christmas a magical and enchanting tale.
It's a movie that's not too saccharingly sweet or gimmicky and has an authentic Nordic fairy tale quality with beautiful frozen scenery .
This Christmas film has enough whimsical magic terrific sets by Holly Thurman and costumes by Ruth Myers to entertain young at heart adults and children alike .
It's been years since I've been so impressed by a Christmas themed movie with just the right sentiments of hope through adversity and loss plus a real adventure to entertain any movie goer.
The bones of the plot are told by Aunt Ruth (Maggie Smith) to her nieces and nephews who have recently lost their mother . It centres around an ordinary young boy called Nikolas who sets out on an extraordinary adventure into the snowy north of Finland in search of his father who is on a quest to discover the fabled village of the elves, Elfhelm .
Taking with him a loyal pet mouse he helps a wounded headstrong reindeer called Blitzen and soon meets his destiny in this magical, comic and endearing story that proves nothing is impossible.
It's a really impressive ensemble cast for this movie headed by the impressive young English actor Henry Lawfull in his first feature film role his only previous television movie was in 2018 in Les Misérables cast as Petit Gervais . Apparently his parents are wisely very protective of Henry even his age is a secret to the press but I'm sure we will see more of him in the future .
A deal was completed in May 2016 for the book to be adapted into film by Blueprint Pictures and Studiocanal. Ol Parker was set to write the screenplay.
In April 2019, Gil Kenan was revealed to be directing the film, with Jim Broadbent, Sally Hawkins, Maggie Smith Toby Jones and Kristen Wiig amongst the cast. Filming began that same month, with production set to occur in Lapland, Finland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and London.
It's a joy to see so many great actors together in one movie no one overshadows anyone else they allow it's young unknown central character to shine as the title suggests.
Oscar nominated Director Gil Kenan better known for horror thrillers like Monster House, Poltergeist,
Scream and City of Ember has successfully crossed the genre bridge from Horror Thriller to Fantasy Adventure .
