Wunder in San Francisco

In many ways, this wonderful movie shows its age, especially in its very hip portrayal of how modern people, albeit of the late 70's, should be acting. Fortunately, there is a great deal of traditionalism which is left standing, although one guesses that it is just as a warm fuzzy. As in the modern world, the people of the movie are overwhelmed with the difficulties of life. Perhaps, though, like the majestic pipe organ itself, the movie demonstrates how our being requires a complete overhaul, climbing out of the dirty reality of life into the beautiful world of the spirit.

The star of the movie is the music and it is warm and grand and as wonderful an occasion as one can possibly imagine. The movie itself is a wonderful enigma: it traces the sometimes empty and disillusioning physical reality of daily life and lackluster choir practices and somehow results in the very symbol of Christmas, much like that of the birth of Christ Himself. As He was born into this world, filled with sin and suffering, yet so we can transcend our physical reality into the spiritual reality of the greatest beauty. Handel wrote this wonderful music when he was almost unknown, didn't even become famous for it, and these unassuming, ordinary people perform it. There are always two levels to life and the movie lets you see them both.

I dislike how Zoë treats Henry and Muriel is certainly somewhat of a caricature. However, no one could imagine how difficult it must be to grow up as a pastor's son or daughter and the strain is something we should think about. Yet ultimately, we hear the glory of the music and we are raised to another level, despite Houseman's constant outward bitterness and overly irritating grousing at every corner. As in daily life, you often have to see beneath the surface to find the prize.

In the end, I felt sorry for Henry, Muriel and even Mrs. Burns. Their lives were, at the end of the movie, somewhat empty... except for the beauty of the music in which at least two of them were a part, singing glory to God and peace on earth. Even though the Messiah was first performed at Easter, one can't help feeling the Christmas spirit through Handel. This is a must-see for anyone who loves Handel and Christmas. God bless us everyone!

...and by that I mean this film premiered on December 9, 1980, the day after John Lennon was murdered. Thus I really remember seeing it, because I badly needed some cheering up, and this sweet little movie fit the bill. Plus John Houseman's speech on the meaning of the word "amateur" has stuck with me all of these years.

This is a very simple quiet holiday movie about a diverse group of people, many of them extremely lonely, who come together as a choir to learn and sing Handel's Messiah for a church Christmas performance. Micheal Learned plays Zoe Henson, the central character. John Houseman plays the choir director, Ephraim Adams, and as other reviewers have mentioned, he is basically doing his Professor Kingsfield act from the Paper Chase - extreme discipline and brutal honesty tempered with compassion.

The thing that has me scratching my head now that didn't 36 years ago - Why did Zoe insist on coming to a big city like San Francisco where she knew nobody, a thousand miles from her home in Nebraska? Why did she not inquire about the availability of teaching jobs before she ever left Nebraska? Because, you see, there are no available teaching jobs, so the best she can do is office temp work, leaving her with no money to go back to Nebraska where she has left her pre-teen son in the care of her own mother. Zoe is newly divorced, and the only thing I could figure out is that she wanted to prove to herself that she could do things on her own with no help from anybody. When I first saw it I was 22 and had a backpack mentality. You got a job in Idaho? Give me five minutes to get packed and I'll be there in three days.

At any rate, to socialize, Zoe joins this choir that involves a multitude of diverse characters. There is a desperately single woman of about 40 who does not want to be single who goes around shoplifting napkins for her trousseau, a teenage African American guy whose 70 year old grandma is supporting him while he finishes school - he wants to go to night school and work during the day so grandma can take a break - she'll have none of it. There is a lonely 40ish fellow about Zoe's age, and then there is Ruth Nelson as Zoe's older downstairs neighbor who suggested she join the choir in the first place. There are other subplots, but I'll let you watch and discover them.

Some things I noticed on the second viewing? Zoe has to improve her typing skills on a machine that was extinct 20 years ago - the typewriter. That Zoe at about 42 was having men throw themselves at her when I could not get a wisp of attention at 22. That phones were plugged into the wall and you had to go to them - wherever they were in the house - to talk on them. They were not coming to you. That electronic diversions of every kind were not ubiquitous and so people had to actually meet face to face if they wanted company, even the teenagers. And one really sobering thought - this was the city that was about to have huge portions of its population wiped out by the AIDS epidemic, and this is the calm before the storm.

I'd recommend it as a film filled with the spirit of Christmas, the spirit of helping others be just a little less lonely, the spirit of empathy. And always realize everybody is lonely in some way or another.

For those of you looking for copies - this film is out of copyright, which is weird for a film made less than 40 years ago. All of the public domain copies for sale via DVD are pretty atrocious, but there are a couple of good copies on youtube if you want to take a look.

Trials and tribulations of the various members of a not-so-hot San Francisco church choir while preparing their snowless California Christmas concert of Handel's "Messiah". Revolving around a divorcee (Michael Learned) newly arrived from Omaha, where, Christmas come, it snows. Distinguished cast of veteran, largely stage, actors, portraying distinct characters with distinction, in a somewhat- less-sappy-than-Hallmarkesque heart-tugger, presided over by the inimitable John Houseman in a superb signature performance. An appreciation of choral music highly recommended for fullest viewing enjoyment.

As the title suggests, not just a run-of-the-mill holiday movie.

This seemingly forgotten telefilm is far and away better that the current crop of yuletide dreck being offered by the likes of the Hallmark Channel and various others. A Christmas Without Snow offers a great cast, intelligent writing, and characters we care about. As other reviews have stated, Michael Learned plays a divorcée starting over in San Francisco who, in an attempt to find some stability, joins a church choir which is about to attempt an ambitious mounting of Handel's Messiah. John Houseman is the no-nonsense director who demands perfection from his choir. As the choir progresses toward its performance of the musical masterpiece, we gain insight into the lives and personalities of various members. What other reviewers have missed is the sense of community among the diverse parishioners/choir members, something that reflects positively on the traditional Christian church. In almost vignette-type fashion, we get to know these people, their loves, hopes, hurts, and see them rally together to tackle the Messiah and also the various problems they encounter as a church and as individuals. There are no quick fixes, no tidy happy endings. Yet these people have each other and the satisfaction of working hard at their endeavors. There's support, there's love, and there's a lot that is healthy and thriving and growing. Intelligent and life-affirming without being syrupy. Recommended.

I just watched this movie again, must be my fourth viewing, and it really holds up. It just never fails to get to me emotionally.

The story is simple, but it is the characters and their backgrounds that engage the viewer. There are no simple solutions to the problems presented, unlike the emotionally manipulative movies of today.

A young widow grieves for her dead husband, someone suffers a stroke, a father and son resolve a tremendous difficulty with a very slow smile at each other and no words are spoken.

Each story stands on its own. A microcosm of life. One does suffer, there is sometimes no magic solution, just a choir and an ambitious undertaking of "The Messiah" to get your mind off the same old, same old.

Michael Learned, what has ever happened to her, a great performance. Also John Houseman being John Houseman, a delight. Not one jarring note from the large cast.

An 8 out of 10. Catch this one if you can.