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Monday Morning Movie Review: Ponty Praises: The Christmas Candle (2013)

The Portly Politico23 Comments

Good old Ponty is always bailing me out when I need it most.  Actually, I now have ample time to loaf about and enjoy the fun of Christmas Break, but that’s precisely the time I don’t want to be dreaming up films to review.

Cue Pontifex Maximus with a chestnut roasting over an open fire.  That chestnut is a faith-based film based on a story by Max Lucado that is, apparently, good.  Finally, Christians are making some good art!

It sounds like a lovely film, and a good antidote to the endless array of cookie-cutter Hallmark films out there.

With that, here is Ponty’s review of 2013’s The Christmas Candle:

When you’re settling down on the couch after you’ve stuffed your face with Christmas dinner, wailing ow, my belly… why, WHY did I eat that last Yorkshire pudding!… I’m going to die, the high chances are that you’ll be curling up to a Christmas movie. I’ll put good money on it that the film will either be a cheap Canadian knock off or one of several big budget flicks – please don’t let it be Elf! That film won’t release you from discomfort or cheer you up. Maybe you’ll go for a classic. Miracle on 34th Street, It’s a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Carol. In which case, kudos. You can’t beat the classics. Or a film you’ve watched 100 times already but can’t be bothered to even lift your poor aching arms to stretch for the remote control. But let me ask you? When was the last time you watched a Christmas movie about faith? Be honest.

Aside from stories about the Nativity, there aren’t too many Christmas movies surrounding faith which, in my humble opinion, is a crime because we’re not celebrating commercialism, people, we’re saluting the birth of Jesus Christ. Our Redeemer, our Saviour. And that should be a joyous occasion, and to honour this, there should be tonnes of films in reverence to this happy event. Lo, in our materialistic and Godless societies, many people appear to have given up on what Christmas is supposed to be. I’m just as bad myself but in my conversion to the side of good, I’m learning more and more about the importance of this period and have found one of those rare gems, a Christmas movie about faith; The Christmas Candle (2013).

Set in 1890, the story sees David Richmond (Hans Matheson), a retired priest now helping out with the Salvation Army, accept a role to re-enter the profession in a village where the inhabitants believe in a miracle candle, blessed by an angel and which grants the wish of the person who lights it on Christmas Eve and prays. David sees this as fanciful nonsense and seeks to abolish what he considers to be the myth of the object, thus restoring faith in the Lord and by extension, his people. Over the course of the story, David must try to win over his flock, who are wedded to the hope provided by the candle, by showing them the miracle of God’s Own creations, but the people of Gladbury and the events that occur show David something he believed to be impossible – that miracles sometimes will come by the Hand of the Lord Himself.

This film is a great example of hope and faith and how one man can be changed and change the fortunes of a village and its people. And as much as David is in dire need for an injection of faith, so are the many villagers who are struggling with their own worries. Whether it’s disease or poverty or the loss of a loved one, all are desperate not only for the strength to fight but for the hope that faith, or in their case, the candle, can provide.

For a film that managed to attract such British heavyweights as James Cosmo (Braveheart, Troy), Sylvester McCoy (The Hobbit, Doctor Who) and John Hannah (The Mummy, Sliding Doors), it’s remarkable that we didn’t find this film until last year. Now we have found it, we’re not letting it go. It’s a superb drama with some excellent performances, particularly that of the lead, Hans Matheson, and Samantha Barks, her character, Emily Barstow, drawn to David because her faith is tested too, not only in the declining condition of her father but because of what she sees as silly villagers pulled in by ridiculous myths. David’s presence in Gladsbury is constantly an issue for him but his friendship with Bea (Lesley Manville) and Emily, who he is drawn to, reaffirms that he is not there by accident but by design, something which comes into play towards the end of the movie.

I won’t say much more or provide anything other than the trailer because this is a must watch, for those who believe and those who do not. Christians will find a story which is reverent to its lessons and non-believers will enjoy a story about how a village comes together for each other during times of hardship. It’s a nicely directed and well written British movie for all the family.

I very much hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

23 thoughts on “Monday Morning Movie Review: Ponty Praises: The Christmas Candle (2013)”

  1. Thanks mate.

    Apologies for the short review. I could have opened it up a little but in my view, this film doesn’t really need me to speak for it – it does a good enough job on its own.

    You won’t be disappointed by it and if you’re like us, this will make great annual viewing.

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  2. I’m going to look for the movie. If I can find it, I’ll watch and come back and chat.
    I’m also trying to decide if I will watch Carol for Another Christmas from 1964 and, from thumbnails, has Rod Serling involved somehow …

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  3. Ummm – not going to bother with Carol for Another Christmas: Carol For Another Christmas (1964)
    Directed by Joseph L. Manckiewics for the United Nations
    Written by Rod Serling

    Presented without commercial interruptions, this “United Nations Special” was sponsored by the Xerox Corporation, the first of a series of Xerox specials promoting the UN. Director Joseph Mankiewicz’s first work for television, the 90-minute ABC drama was publicized as having an all-star cast (which meant that names of some supporting cast members were not officially released).

    In Rod Serling’s update of Charles Dickens, industrial tycoon Daniel Grudge (Sterling Hayden) has never recovered from the loss of his 22-year-old son Marley (Peter Fonda), killed in action during Christmas Eve of 1944. The embittered Grudge has only scorn for any American involvement in international affairs. But then the Ghost of Christmas Past (Steve Lawrence) takes him back through time to a World War I troopship. Grudge also is visited by the Ghost of Christmas Present (Pat Hingle), and the Ghost of Christmas Future (Robert Shaw) gives him a tour across a desolate landscape where he sees the ruins of a once-great civilization.

    Others in the cast were Percy Rodriguez, Eva Marie Saint, Ben Gazzara, Barbara Ann Teer, James Shigeta and Britt Ekland. Henry Mancini wrote the theme music, which was recorded for his 1966 holiday LP, A Merry Mancini Christmas.

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