A Sunburnt Christmas 2020

This very Australian comedy is not your typical cliché Christmas movie

7.2 / 10   12 vote(s)
Comedy Crime Family

A single mother and her kids are doing it tough on their outback farm - until a runaway criminal dressed as Santa Claus crashes into their property, and their lives.

Release Date 2020-12-11
Runtime 1h 40m
Directors Christiaan Van Vuuren, Dylan River, Iain Pirret, Shannon Crotty, Joel Brown
Producer
Writers Elliot Vella, Gretel Vella, Timothy Walker

Boy am I glad I heard about this movie and snagged it for our viewing. It is an instant holiday classic in this house, and I am sure we will watch it every Christmas.

This is partly just because I think it is a funny, fast moving movie. The characters we are supposed to like are either quite likable or else they grow on you, and the bad guy is equally easy to root against. The plot isn’t remarkable by itself, but the scenes that make it up are terrific. There are a couple of plot twists to keep you hopping.

We also like it because this is as close as we have seen to an atheist Christmas movie. It even closes with part of a Tim Minchen song during the credits.

There is some violence here, though most is almost cartoon violence rather than graphic stuff. The language also veers towards swearing at times, so you will need to use your best judgement for young children.

A Sunburnt Christmas will definitely make our annual holiday viewing list!

Peter McGinn