claude jutra's 'mon oncle antione' has the honour of being this viewers favourite christmas film of all time. sure its a tad grim; the tale of a young boy confronting death and mortality for the first time couldnt not have been, but the atmosphere of the canadian asbestos mining town and the folk surrounding it create a christmas feeling like no other.
i first saw the film earlier this year, having been sent a copy by mistake (and at no charge!) by an online dvd store. as i wasnt expecting the dvd it took me a while to get around to giving it a viewing, with my immediate post-screening reaction being "i should have left it til christmas'', which desite the derogatory slant the comment may take, its actually a compliment. with the film being set (largely) over the course of one day in the aforementioned town's convenience store, it seemed to be the perfect accompaniment to the lazy atmosphere in my own mind on christmas eve, having winded down after a few hours of last minute work based activity. the fact that the day on which the film is set happens to be christmas eve only serves to compliment this even more.
jutra's film, in which he also stars was recently named the greatest canadian film of all time, and while i may not agree with that entirely (guy maddin occupies too big a space in my heart for such bold claims to ring true) it is a complete masterpiece. after watching the film earlier today, i made the decision that it would be my official christmas film, and will be viewed every christmas eve.
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