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Click here to return to the main site. DVD Review
Poor young Martha Evans has been abandoned by her husband a few days before Christmas leaving her penniless and homeless. With three children in tow Martha moves to another town, getting a job as a waitress. With money short and troubles plentiful it looks like Martha’s Christmas is quickly going down the drain. Only the big man upstairs has a hope of pulling this mild problem out of the fire, and with his help, and the good natures of the people she meets, everything in Martha’s world turns out for the best... A Christmas Wish (2010 - 1 min, 32 min, 52 sec) is an overtly Christian film, directed and written by Craig Clyde. Now, if you can get away from the ‘shove it down your throat’ message, then this is not an altogether bad family film - it reminded me very much of The Waltons, in its feel. Having created a world where nothing really bad happens, Clyde goes on to prove that nothing ever really would be that bad for the true believer. Even Martha’s predicament is hardly dire and in need of requiring God's intervention, after all. The family seem to find it ridiculously easy to find accommodation and work, they all remain well fed and clean. It would be fairer to say that the film is about a woman who experiences a little discomfort in her life. The cast do what they can with some very pedestrian ideas and a ‘paint by numbers’ script. Kristy Swanson plays Martha with a good deal of conviction, but it’s a shame to see the original Buffy reduced to making this sort of bargain bin Christmas fare. The 16:9 picture looks like the thing was shot on a mid-range digital camera. Direction and cinematography are okay, and there is little here to make you want to turn the film off. The problem is that there is also little that is captivating about the film. If it was on the telly I might leave it on and it would make an easy watch for younger children who are not ready for the heady heights of Akira Kurosawa at Christmas. 5 Charles Packer Buy this item online
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