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What it’s about:
A teenage beauty queen is flung into swift adulthood when her father assumes a new identity: Father Christmas. Juggling a crazy father, an impressionable kid brother and a growing romance, Nonnie has to redefine her own meaning of family.
What we thought:
When I think of a Christmas themed movie, I always cringe a bit, because the only Christmas-themed movie I ever enjoyed was Home Alone, the very first one, obviously. Everything that came after that was just sort of, well, clichéd and disappointing. And to be honest, I never thought the day would come that I would enjoy another Christmas themed movie… and in Afrikaans nogal!
But, I can tell you this with absolute certainty and honesty: Liewe Kersfeesvader is a beautiful and brilliant piece of work that will have you feeling all the emotions while Christmas won’t even be on your mind half of the time.
Firstly, forget everything you think a Christmas movie is or should be, because Liewe Kersfeevader will turn that completely upside down, and in a good way.
Directed and written by Etienne Fourie (Die Windpomp, Dis Koue Kos, Skat), Liewe Kersfeesvader tells the story of a functional dysfunctional family who has to deal with what life throws at them. And it’s a lot! When Nonnie (Mila Guy), her brother Hugo (Eloff Snyman) and their dad Herman (Morne Visser) gets the surprise of divorce papers from their mom (Milan Murray) on Christmas morning, their life is over as they know it.
Their dad goes into hiding for 3 months only to come out believing he is Father Christmas and in the meantime Nonnie is the one running the household, doing odd jobs to earn money and keeping her little brother in school.
I really don’t want to give too much away about the story. At times it will feel as if the story is a bit far-fetched or a bit unrealistic, but it’s all intentional and by the end of the film it will all make complete sense. The film feels like a Wes Anderson film, think Moonlight Kingdom and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou; very stylised yet quirky in the way it deals with heavy subject matters. Every shot, every bit of décor, every detail, it’s all put together so beautifully.
Standout performances definitely include Mila Guy as Nonnie; she’s warm and honest and you feel everything she’s feeling with her. Morne Visser is funny and charming as the disturbed Father Christmas and Milan Murray makes shallow look beautiful.
One thing very few people know about this film is that the title of the film comes from the Laurika Rauch song, Kyk Hoe Glinster die Maan. And so it’s just fitting that it’s the theme song of the film, with Laurika redoing the song specifically for the movie. And the end result will give you goosebumps.
Watch the music video here:
Liewe Kersfeesvader is full of heart and humour and is a must-see for the whole family.
