L'Arbre de Noël

I saw this movie once when I was a small child (4 or 5),this was obviously very shortly after production. I am now 49 and I have thought often about the emotional impact that it had on me at such a young age. I was inconsolable the evening after watching this and the whole next day. I'm assuming this was because I was a very sensitive child and I was so young when I watched it. Back then children weren't so desensitized to raw emotion as they are today. Even still, I don't think that I would show this movie to a child as young and sensitive as I was. Just thinking about it, this movie is still a very memorable and emotional movie to think about. It just shows very well the lengths that a parent will go to to make their dying child happy when they don't know what else to do. It shows the assumptions that people will jump to without knowing the facts, It also shows the loving bond between a child and his pets. If you enjoy tearjerkers, then this one will do the job. I do still think of it most years around Christmas, and I'd really love to see it again. Just writing this review of a movie I saw 44 years ago brought tears to my eyes. A Wonderful depiction of love, humanity and sacrifice.

I red the book when I was 11 and wanted to see the film . I liked it the same . Now I am 35 and I still like to see it sometimes . It's a good analysis of the characters . What would you do if a person you love very much have to die en six month . Bourvil is my favourite actor and it is one of his best role .

I have always seen that movie at each Christmas since I am 7. Few people know it but it is really worth to watch. That is according to me one of these little unknown treasures in the world movie collection.

For tax reasons and to be nearer his beloved African game preserve William Holden spent a lot of time in Europe during the sixties working. At the end of the decade Holden starred in The Christmas Tree which is not what you would think by the title, a warm and fun holiday movie. Christmas is peripheral to this very sad, almost beyond endurance sad movie.

Holden is one of the richest men in the world and a widower who has a young son Brooke Fuller. While on holiday in Corsica and swimming on the beach Fuller is exposed fatally to radiation poisoning. I'm not sure of the science of this, but I think the effects are those that would be sustained in one of those dirty bomb type explosions. You'll have to see the film to see how it is done.

There's no hope but to make the lad's weeks/months as happy as possible. The moral if there is any is that all the wealth and power in the world can never be brought to bear against the inevitable.

The cast also includes Virna Lisi and the great French comedian Bourvil. It's a great film, but not for the Yuletide season.

I remember seeing this movie when I was a kid. We watched it every year. It has been about 10 years since I have seen it, if not longer. I always check the listings this time of year but never seem to see that it is on. This has got to be one of the best holiday movies I have ever seen. My kids have never seen this movie and I am sure they would just love it as much as I did when I was their age. A definite thumbs up for me!