Natal em Família

Very well done. One of the best Christmas movies in a while. Yes it has religious tones and yea Christmas is about Jesus people need to get over it and know when they buy celebrate Christmas they are celebrating the birth of Christ. Send me the hate mail!!!

For some reason there is no mention of this that I can see but an accurate review of this movie should mention its really a "Christian Movie" as in even the dialog is peppered with religious references after the first 10 minutes. Characters are referred to "brother" this and "sister" by the minister father who plays a leading role.

The lead actress is pretty good and the supporting cast isn't too bad. For me it got so bogged down in the religious aspects that I couldn't finish it. In the end there is no real plot except to "witness" no us non-believers,

The high rating was clearly bid up by believers. Compared to other "Hallmark type" movies it is objectively not very good.

Imagine a Christian Christmas movie! But the acting is actually better than average for Hallmark. So many Hallmark movies are the tired secular romance with Christmas only as the backdrop. This movie has more a Gospel message. There's a lot of "Christmas " in this movie missing from other offerings as of late. It was refreshing!

Aside from the usual contrivance to make a big city girl have to go home at Christmas time, this is a nice story that is actually about regular people getting ready for the holidays. First, their lives are centered around their church family and the real preparations for Christmas. Secondly, and most importantly, their homes and their town are not filled with ridiculous over-decoration like standard holiday fare. Nobody has garland in every window, shelf, and doorway in real life. I only wish that they could have recruited some better actors. Aside from Richard Karn, they're all a little stiff. But the story is pleasant enough.

This is a little bit edgier than the fluffy Christmas movies. From my experience, it is more true to life as well. It portrays the ups and downs of small community life plus dealing with the past at Christmas realistically. I could identify with all the characters to some extent, which paradoxically makes me like and dislike the movie at the same time! The caring yet claustrophobic nature of family and friends is spot on. One of the biggest positive elements is overcoming your own embarrassment/ fear to (a) help others and (b) get more out of life yourself. I'm not sure I'd especially watch this again, but it was worth a look.