Bulletin Nov/Dec 2021

Page 46

The Best Movies to Watch this Holiday Season

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atching holiday movies is the perfect way to get into the holiday spirit! Whether you are watching alone, with a friend, or with your family, watching holiday movies is a fun pre-holiday ritual—and if nothing else, a great excuse to drink hot chocolate and eat popcorn. The sheer abundance of holiday movies, particularly Hallmark Christmas movies, makes choosing the right movie to watch overwhelming. To ease your choice paralysis, we at the Bulletin have curated a selection of movies that are perfect to watch in preparation for the holiday season. Here are a few of our top recommendations... Little Women, 2019 , directed by Barnard alum Greta Gerwig and based on Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel, is the quintessential holiday movie. Taking a story that many are familiar with, Gerwig presents with a twist as she introduces the plotline using a non-linear timeline that begins at the end of the story. introduces the

by Rose Joffe March family as they prepare for their first Christmas without their father, who is defending the North in the Civil War. Gerwig’s star studded cast, which boasts Sairose Ronan, Emma Watson, Timothée Chalamet, Meryl Streep, and Laura Dern, brings the classic novel to light. Although this movie is set a century and a half ago, the central themes and conflicts that it presents are very much still prevalent today. As draws on family values, relationships, and love, it connects the old with the new as it reminds viewers of shared experiences that transcend time. Anyone familiar with Alcott’s novel knows that the March family’s lives are filled with struggle. As Gerwig presents the trials of the March family and the hardships that they are forced to endure, she highlights the importance of family and the ways in which the March sisters are strengthened and uplifted by their relationships to one another. A recommendation to anyone who watches this movie—bring tissues! This movie is a tearjerker. A winner of the Critics Choice Movie Award for best THE BULLETIN -

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adapted screenplay, is the perfect nostalgic movie to watch this holiday season. Rating: 5/5 Happiest Season, 2020 , directed by Clea Duvall, is a modern twist on the classic holiday romcom. Duvall’s movie, which stars Kristin Stewart and Mackenzie Davis, introduces couple Abby and Harper as they prepare for the holiday season. One of the first holiday movies that highlights a lesbian relationship, brings LGBTQ+ issues to light as it highlights Abby and Harper’s journey. Although this movie emphasizes the difficulties of being queer and coming out to loved ones, it does so in a manner that combines comedy and sincerity. The complexities of this movie are introduced as Abby, played by Kristin Stewart, realizes that her partner is not out to her family moments before she arrives at their family home to celebrate Christmas. Through its portrayal of Abby and Harper’s relationship, this movie reveals the complexities of romantic


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