Christmas, Again

The storytelling and direction seemed a bit clumsy, and somewhat amateurish. However, the main character was very believable, and I felt like I was seeing a real person, not an actor. But we never find out much at all about his background, or why or how he lost his former relationship. And the story never really develops much until late in the movie. We also never learn anything about Lydia's background, either, other than that she lives with some guy she isn't well-suited for.

The reviews I've read reminded me of a couple of things. While working at a national retail chain I would read books on my breaks in the break room. I was reading a biography and when I told a fellow worker what I was reading she said, "You read non fiction, isn't it boring". Well, it is not. This film is very much like a documentary but it is not and that seems to me that why it is so brilliant. John Lennon once was asked what he thought of people who wrote bad reviews of Beatles music. As I recall, his answer was something like, "I'm just bloody well sorry they don't get it". Watch it and you be the judge...I really hope you "get it". It is a brilliant film and I'll certainly recommend it to people who grow tired of "cookie cutter" Christmas movies.

While there is value in creating cinema that captures the everyday human experience, Christmas, Again overshoots that mark by being so real that it's boring. I'm not saying that every film needs to fill their spare moments with car chases, drug use, and automatic weapons, but at the very least, films should tell stories about interesting characters. It's too bad, considering the idea of a disaffected Christmas tree salesman named Noel (Kentucker Audley) who slowly recovers his holiday spirit could make a great story. I suppose what makes this film aggravating to watch is the fact that there were so many opportunities to expand the narrative beyond the many extensive close-ups of Noel looking angsty or wistful. For example, the unconscious mystery woman (Hannah Gross) whom Noel rescues from freezing to death on a park bench would have been a good avenue to explore. Instead, the film shows us a series of fractured scenes that hint at the vague possibility of a love story between them. It's possible that the film is ambiguous in order to encourage the audience to form their own conclusions, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but that sort of thing requires effort from an audience—and we don't like spending effort figuring out characters that we don't really care about. –Alex Springer

What a lovely, heartfelt film. The reason it works so well is because, as always, not forcing any emotion is the way to go. It's devoid of any silly contrivances and everything because of that feels and sounds realistic. The lead actor is pretty great. I reckon this must have been a difficult role to cast because it's so reliant on silence, and the actor is able to infuse the film with charm and emotion without ever feeling like he is trying. It's probably one of the best Christmas films I have ever seen, and definitely deserves to be seen by a much larger audience. Definitely recommended for anyone who wants something real and very relevant.

The title says so much about the content and message in this film! "Christmas, again!", don't we all feel this way? Christmas again and again and again with it's perpetual message of peace & joy that we all know doesn't exist. It's a time of year our culture celebrates and 99% of us feel it is something we must do because it is expected of us.

Director/writer Charles Poekel brings to the screen the story of 'Noel' once again selling Christmas trees, wreaths, lights on a corner in NYC, something he has been doing for years. We see his perfunctory interaction with the customers and his co-worker. He is so bored and frustrated he keeps his pills (pain killers maybe) in an advent calender! Then an incident and act of compassion by Noel brings Lydia into his life. Noel may be bored and frustrated with his life but he is an honest and truly nice person. Lydia is a mysterious character as she is obviously at a period in her life in which focus and direction have been lost. She leaves but returns to thank Noel for his kindness. This turns out to be both good and bad for Noel. He is attracted to her and she is attracted to him but there are reasons for her to keep her distance.

Noel is a withdrawn and quiet character and he wants more in his life but it's not happening. There is a scene in which he sees what he feels is the ideal Christmas family, and he becomes very upset with himself and his life. Even his brief and intermittent encounters with Lydia feeds his frustration. In the end nothing happens, he sells all his Christmas trees except for one, which is left standing alone. Just like Noel.

"Christmas, again" is, in my opinion, a story of the false promise of the holiday season and how it is a constant source of frustration to many. No matter how much we try, the Love, Peace, and Joy that so much saturates the Christmas message, is in reality hollow and false as we all stand alone in this world.