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It’s late November and there’s a whisper of Christmas on the air. Expectations of the impending festive season are growing and people all across Ireland are scrambling to prepare themselves for what many deem to be “the most wonderful time of the year”. But is it always?
That’s how acclaimed filmmaker Ken Wardrop’s latest project, So This Is Christmas, begins. Throughout the film, Wardrop takes us on a heartening and emotional journey with five ordinary characters as they navigate personal dilemmas triggered by this overwhelming time of year. Amid their everyday lives and struggles, we discover stories of extraordinary resilience and humble bravery… stories that remind us of the true meaning of Christmas.
Beyond the façade of tinsel and celebration, the film explores the deeper complexities that emerge when expectations collide with reality. What transpires is an important social commentary, filled with humour yet tinged with tragedy.
I think everyone should see it, I told a delighted Wardrop over Zoom when I spoke to him before Christmas. “Oh, that’s lovely to hear. I’m particularly nervous about it. You’re never quite sure how people are going to react. So, it’s, it’s going to be an interesting journey this. Look, it won’t be everybody’s cup of tea and people will find it a hard watch and a reminder, and, you know, a complicated journey through these different stories, but equally, I think it is an important film, I think there’s a message in there for us all.”
Wardrop has a complex relationship with Christmas, he tells me. “When I was 12 years of age, it was my first year in secondary school, I lost my granny. She passed away on Christmas Day and she was living with us. So it had a big impact, I suppose on our Christmases thereafter.
“It was a darker time of year just because it was us remembering and granny’s empty chair was always at the table. I think for quite some time, there was a dread around Christmas. I think that kind of started my complicated relationship with that time of year,” he recalls. “I know this year, because I lost my mum, this year, I’m going to have grief on top of that come Christmas time.”
The idea for a Christmas film was always something he wanted to explore, though he wasn’t sure in what format. A creative documentary felt like the right fit, and finding characters to interview turned out to be surprisingly easy. “This film only has five characters, it’s the deepest I’ve ever gotten with anybody in a film. So I think that has been a particularly beautiful experience because I really got to know these people and become friends. I will know them probably for the rest of my life and it’s been a really interesting process.”
“These are real people’s real lives,” explains Wardrop. “We went out to find people in a particular space, maybe someone that had lost someone special and this would be their first Christmas without that person, but then you meet different characters along the way.”
There’s universality in the specific, he agrees.; this could be any small town in any part of Ireland. The people are reminiscent of friends, neighbours, loved ones. Their stories are familiar, dealing with themes many of us are already well versed in – grief, loneliness, the pressure to fit in.
“Even though the search could have been nationwide, researchers found these people within their own spheres. That doesn’t surprise me because their stories are very familiar. There’s someone next door to us who is experiencing something very similar to one of these characters… it made sense ultimately, that we would turn to our own worlds and just find these people around us.
“Christmas can be a perfect storm for people. I think it is important that that’s acknowledged… that’s what I tried to do.”
Beautifully shot on 35mm, the film has a gorgeous nostalgic feel to it and though it was definitely more difficult to pull off thanks to budgetary restraints, the result speaks for itself. “It’s hard to explain. It is nostalgic, that’s a good way of putting it… it’s got that texture that we associate with the past, and Christmas has that as well. So it just felt right. ”
Working with 35mm is “really liberating,” in Wardrop’s opinion. “You feel like you’re a filmmaker again because you have to make decisions. You can’t just randomly go, ‘Oh, shoot that and while you’re over there, we’ll get this thing going for a close-up.’ You actually have to make decisions and almost edit as you go. So you feel empowered by it because you’re creating something and making choices. Normally, those choices would be much more in the edit. But with 35mm, you have to think on your feet.”
So, what’s the resounding message? “That time is our most precious gift,” Wardrop smiles. “If you look at the stories, you just know that these people could do with a hug, we all could do with a hug. It’s having that opportunity to be with our friends and family that is the most precious thing and we should value that over any gift… at the end of the day, it’s about sitting down and having good times with people and sharing and just laughing. I know that’s a bit cliched but that’s just the sort of journey I’ve been on through this.”
Heartwarming, tender and very funny, So This Is Christmas is about the difficult moments behind the twinkling fairy lights – magical in their own way. Wardrop isn’t reinventing the wheel but he doesn’t have to when the stories are this good. A must-see.
So This Is Christmas is now shoing in Irish cinemas nationwide. Imagery provided by Break Out Pictures.