Mimsyborogove-879-808819

A sweetly touching and very humorous short story of the conflict of ideas and will between a starchy teacher nearing retirement and the new, keen young principal over the annual Xmas pageant at a British inner-city elementary school. In the quest for cultural relevance, the battle lines are clear: the rigidly traditional vs the outlandishly contemporary! For me, it is a must-see favourite every year, despite being in poor colour with commercial breaks on an old VHS I taped off TV years and years ago. I've even watched it twice in a row, to savour the distinct personalities and all the little bits of business. It should be out on DVD, like the other hour-long seasonal treasures: Dylan Thomas' "A Child's Christmas in Wales", and Truman Capote's "A Christmas Memory".