Time has come to the end of 2024, and we are about to enter a brand new year. Recently, The Guardian and the British Film Institute have invited many well-known filmmakers to recommend some films that they will watch repeatedly during the holidays and talk about why they like them. If you prefer to welcome the new year in a warm home rather than on the crowded winter streets, you might as well choose one or more of these films to accompany you.

【List】

James Ivory (director and screenwriter, representative works include "A Room with a View", "Maurice" and "The Goodbye")

Recommended work: Gone with the Wind

I first saw Gone With the Wind when I was about 12. At the end of the film, Clark Gable said, "Honey, to be honest, I don't give a damn." The word "damn" appeared in a movie that was aimed at audiences of all ages, which was considered a bit shocking at the time.

I went to school where the teachers were all church nuns. They told us, "When Clark Gable says this word, you have to cover your ears." I don't know how the nuns at school knew he was going to say this beforehand - they hadn't seen the movie beforehand. Who told them that Gable said "fuck"? Of course, I didn't actually cover my ears when I saw it. My mom would say "fuck" and my dad would say it. Sometimes they would say "god damn."

Stills from Gone with the Wind

The reason why I think of this movie at this time is because there is a scene in the movie where Ashley Wiltshire returns home from the front for Christmas and his wife Melanie knits him a pair of gloves, which makes him very moved. This is a scene that has always remained in my memory: a man returns home for the holidays and the woman who loves him deeply gives him a gift. It was a very peaceful scene, and even the colors were not noisy. The picture was very quiet, with only the color of a pair of newly knitted wool gloves.

Himesh Patel (actor, representative works "Blockbuster" and "Tenet")

Recommended work: The Lord of the Rings: Rise of the King

When I think of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy, I think of Christmas, because they were all released during the holiday season between 2001 and 2003, and have become one of the most important cultural memories of my generation. In those years, we could not only enjoy the usual holiday joy, but also look forward to what surprises the latest chapter of this epic film trilogy would bring us. So, Tolkien's world adorned my holiday season. Especially the last "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King", which was the climax and the finale. In my memory, everyone in school talked about these movies during the period around the holidays.

Stills from The Lord of the Rings: Rise of the King

Of course, this isn't a movie I watch every Christmas - it's hard to convince my family to sit down and watch a 3-hour, 21-minute epic fantasy movie with me, and that's enough to put me off. As for watching all three movies in a row, or watching an extended version of The Lord of the Rings, that's even more impractical. So generally speaking, when we celebrate the holidays now, we just watch the best movies of the past year.

The perfect Christmas movie is one that brings the whole family together, takes us on a rollercoaster of emotions, makes us hug each other with tears or cheer. So I still hope that one day in the future, I can also be in such an ideal scene, that is, watching "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" with my wife and children, while enjoying sumptuous snacks and trying not to cry when Aragorn said to the hobbits, "My friends, you need not bow to anyone."

Gurinder Chadha (director, representative works include "Bend It Like Beckham", "Young Kiss", "Governor's House")

Recommended work: It’s a Wonderful Life

It's a Wonderful Life is my favorite Christmas movie because it does everything a holiday movie should do during a time when kindness is everything. It touches you, it makes you feel the beauty of humanity, it takes you on an emotional roller coaster, and it makes you feel grateful for life, love, family, and community.

Stills from It's a Wonderful Life

Every year at this time, I take my children to the Prince Charles Cinema in Leicester Square, London, buy a big bucket of popcorn, and watch this movie as a family. They didn't like this movie when they were young because it was in black and white, but now they are 17 years old and they all love this tradition of my family because they understand why every year at this time, I will burst into tears when the townspeople use all their savings to save the protagonist George Bailey. When it was first released, it was considered a failure, but many years later, Frank Capra and James Stewart got the respect they deserved for making such an unparalleled timeless classic, which makes me, who also eats movies, appreciate this movie more and feel more relieved and satisfied.

Sean Baker (director, representative works include "Florida" and "Anora")

Recommended work: "Happily Ever After"

Babes in Toyland was the holiday movie that my generation grew up with, at least for me, because it was the movie that would play on TV stations in the New York area around Thanksgiving every year, and it would start to get you ready for Christmas.

Stills from "Happy Days"

This movie has an early example of breaking the fourth wall. Although the plot becomes darker and more terrifying as it goes on, it also has a good sense of humor. Basically, the leading actors Laurel and Hardy are still playing themselves, but the background is changed to the toy world in the fairy tale village. It tells the story of the village bully Barnaby who wants to take away the house of the shepherdess little Bobby's mother. The stage design and costumes of the whole movie are very exquisite and artistic. In short, I have watched this movie many times since I was a child, so much so that I later used the opening song of this movie, "Toyland", in my own movie "Tangerine". It can be seen that it has a great influence on me.