24 movies Guaranteed to make you feel Christmassy
December 18th - Millions
|
Year
: 2004
Director:
Danny Boyle
Starring:
James Nesbitt, Daisy Donovan,
Alex Etel, Leslie Phillips, Alun Armstrong. |
Millions
A
little known film which is a great shame because
this is a minor classic.
Millions is
set during the run up to Christmas and centres
around a seven year old boy Damian, his slightly
older brother, Anthony, and their father, Ronnie.
The boys mother has died previously and Damian
has increasingly retreated into a fantasy land
where he has visions of saints and religious figures
who talk to him and guide him. One day when he
is out playing by some railway tracks, a bag
containing "millions" of
pounds seemingly drops out of the sky. Damian takes
the bag falling from the sky as a sign from god
that he should use the money to help the poor people,
but he must be quick as in a few days the pound
will cease to be legal tender in favour of the
euro. So Damian and his brother set out on a mission
to get rid of it all - arguing between themselves
as to whether they should spend it on themselves
or use it to try and help others. Unfortunately
the money didn't fall out of the sky, it was thrown
from a train by a gang of crooks that were robbing
the bullion carriage, and now they
want the money back.
Millions is
a superb film that unfortunately is something
of a buried treasure and is not that widely known.
With a film that deals with the innocence and
simple moral judgments that children make it
would be very easy to turn it into a schmaltzy
and sickly sweet tale, thankfully that has been
skillfully avoided here. The storyline is first
class and brilliantly played by the two youngsters
here. Also Danny Boyle is the master of imaginative
and quirky storytelling, so we get a story that
is practically a fable being presented in an
ultra-modern and visually very impressive
way. It is also a very genuine and emotionally
touching tale. This
is a practically unheard of film, but I would recommend
it as a perfect Christmas film. Despite it modern
take and hard edged realism (and surrealism)
it's a film that would sit very comfortably with
the likes of the true Christmas classic like Its
A Wonderful Life and Miracle
On 34th Street as it focuses on the innocence
and philanthropy of the young boy whose actions
touch those around him.
Its
also funny, heartfelt, clever and is guaranteed
to bring a tear to your eye. If
there was one film on my list that I would urge
to check out - it would be this one. Its
is placed at December 18th on our Christmas
movies guide (USA edition)
Buy
this film and more from our Christmas
DVD store in association with Amazon.com
