A Child's Christmas in Wales

On this, the 20th anniversary of this wonderful production, I hope that more people will have the opportunity to experience it for the first time. I tend to think of it as a reassuring antidote to the constant ills of everyday life. In a time when many new Christmas specials seem to have a somewhat cynical slant, the wonderful "A Child's Christmas in Wales" is something which is most welcome. Denholm Elliot is wonderful in his role as Old Geraint who shares his Christmas memories of his Welsh childhood with his grandson Thomas. A beautiful production which is well acted and directed, it has an ending which will bring a sentimental tear to your eye. It's one of the best.

Watching this story on video has become a part of our family's Christmas tradition. The story is a gentle evocation of a Christmas past that grows more joyous with the passage of time. Denholm Elliot's narration, as the grandfather, is most effective in bringing the beautiful imagery of the poem to life.

I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 400 Christmas MOVIES.

BEWARE OF BOGUS REVIEWS. SOME REVIEWERS HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW. WHEN ITS A POSITIVE REVIEW THAT TELLS ME THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE PRODUCTION. I HAVE NO AGENDA! I AM HONEST!

A CHILD'S Christmas IN WALES takes you on a lyrical journey back to the magic and marvel of boyhood where no two moments were ever alike and life was embraced with belief instead of doubt. On this special Christmas Eve, Old Geraint shares these heartwarming memories with his dearly loved grandson, Thomas. In one evening he does more than recall his cherished youth . . . he relives it.

This is a very charming family film. It celebrates not only Christmas but the memories we cherish about the holiday.

The cast is perfect. For a television special (It runs under an hour) it has more heart and soul than bigger budget theatrical films. This little movie seems to be cut from the same cloth that "A Christmas Story" came from. What is nice about this film is that it celebrates traditions that carry down from one generation to another. Children might not like this but adults with children will love this.

This is well worth buying. Buy it and watch it with you extended family the next time you are all together.

I remember watching this every Christmas as a kid with my family. When the cassette was misplaced, of course the tradition subsided, but last Christmas I found it, dusted it off, and my parents, brother and I gathered around.

It was just as I'd remembered it, and better.

Don McBrearty did a really beautiful job of bringing Dylan Thomas' poem to life, and very sensitively, I might add. There is nothing sappy or commercial about it, and the film adaption keeps the same tone as the poem.

Actors, costumes and sets are vibrant and alive. Nothing feels contrived, and you barely notice that the actors are acting-- it's as though you're there, having Christmas with the family. There is this wonderful sense of innocence and warmth to it, and has a feeling that continues to ressonate with you for a long time after watching it.

My favorite part has to be at the end, when at the end of an eventful Christmas day, the young Geraint (Jesse McBrearty) is saying goodnight, taking his time to embrace each family member, as they are all singing that Welsh air, "All Through The Night," and quietly goes upstairs as the sounds of his family follow him. It's quite possibly one of the most moving moments in film that I have experienced, and one to be carried with me.

I am delighted that the tradition of watching this at Christmas has resumed-- it was a part of my childhood, and now is a part of visiting my parents at Christmas. We are all a bit older, but can fall into that innocence and peacefulness for a while...

"One Christmas was so much like another, in those years around the sea-town corner now and out of all sound except the distant speaking of the voices I sometimes hear a moment before sleep..." Heartbreakingly poignant those words are now I have become an 'elder' and so many of my family are gone into their places in history.

Since this filmed version simply is the best, truest film adaptation of Thomas' famous work it also must be considered a standard few could match. My tape wore out but now armed with a lovely new DVD I enjoy it every year played on technology Thomas's narrator could have only dreamed of.

Sweet and intelligently produced, we are fortunate indeed to have this exquisite version to enjoy year after year.