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DramaComedyDocumentaryAnimationExperimentalMusic
Christmas Merry
Robin Baker
average rating from 36 members 
       
drama | 2005 | South West | 3 min
Published 16 Dec 05
Julia and Jim are dreaming of a white Christmas...
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synopsis
Christmas Merry reveals the disintegration of a relationship during the course of Christmas Day.
short fact
Christmas Merry is one of 3x3-minute films commissioned annually by BBC Talent. Writer/director Robin Baker gained the commission after his previous film, Seafood (2004), was nominated for the BBC’s New Filmmaker Award.

Christmas Merry was shot on location in Bristol in March 2005. The film stars Amanda Ryan (Elizabeth, The Forsyte Saga, Attachments) and Daniel Ryan (The Government Inspector, As Time Goes By, Bob and Rose). Despite their shared surname, Amanda and Dan are not related.

“I’m in two minds about Christmas. On one level there’s the childish pleasure of tradition, endless gluttony, being with the people you love and the sentimental joy of cheesy festive music. On the other, it never snows, there’s an orgy of diabolical consumerism, you have major rows with your family and the telly’s crap. Christmas Merry is about this dichotomy. The story is told backwards, though I hope that the audience only realises this about 2/3 of the way through. I chose to use this structure not just out of wilful eccentricity, but in an attempt to unsettle the audience’s emotions. The film ends on a heady, happy and romantic note, but then you remember that this is how the couple’s day began, rather than ended, so it’s not so happy and romantic after all. I suppose you could call it an anti-love story.” - Robin Baker
crew
  • director Robin Baker
  • writer Robin Baker
  • producer Steve Gear & Jeremy Routledge
  • editor Barbara Zosel
  • director of photography Simon Vickery
  • sound Richard Maxwell
  • production designer Gerelyn Blackstone-Bridges
  • production manager Gwendolyn Joy
  • production assistant David Thompson
  • script editor Georgina Lewis
  • executive producer Jeremy Howe
  • cast
    • Julia Amanda Ryan
    • Jim Daniel Ryan
    festivals, awards and screenings include:
  • London Film Festival 2005 - Trouble and Strife programme
  • Brief Encounters 2005 - Southwest Showcase
  • format
    digital
    © 2005 Calling the Shots for BBC

    comments

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    comment by Nick  Barrett
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    posted Dec 24, 2007

    Great stuff, christmas needs taking down a peg or two! A very tightly packed three minutes, i was going to level one criticism of it being that the turn of emotion seems a little too unbelievable between the heartwarming present giving to the storming out - but then again i went for a christmas meal the other night and an argument happened in the blink of an eye heh heh. Was like watching the french flick 5 X 2 in microcosm - well done and a humbug christmas to everyone!

    comment by billy  nathan
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    posted Dec 29, 2006

    Dispite various attempts, it was hard to get the volume up to a reasonable level, a basic idea, executed well, good attention to background set.

    comment by Simon  Armstrong
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    posted Feb 3, 2006

    Powerful film that makes its point by stealth - suddenly catches up with you and leaves you unsettled. Clever without being 'clever-clever'. Very authentic and very emotional.

    comment by steve  rogers
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    posted Jan 3, 2006

    Great performances from the 2 leads. Amazing how few short films get this right. Film kind of plays mind games with you. Watched it yesterday and stuck in my head.

    comment by Sarah  Farrow
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    posted Jan 2, 2006

    This film seems to divide opinion right down the middle. I thought that it was incredibly sad and packed a very real emotional punch. I was particularly impressed with how the director has captured the dynamics of a real relationship in such a short space of time. I also loved the mix of Ken Loach-like reality with the magic realism of the falling snow. I agree with one of the reviewers below who talks about the dark humour. Didn't know whether to laugh or cry at times.

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    other films by this director
    Seafood
    drama
    useful links
    • www.bbc.co.uk/talent
    • www.callingtheshots.co.uk
    production company
    Calling The Shots for the BBC

    selected by
    BBC New Talent
    more shorts with similar themes

    This film is included in the film catalogue under the following themes:

    • Behind Closed Doors
    • Love/Hate

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