Lost Christmas (2011) User Reviews

Ripples in time

[Prismark10 · 7/10 · 3 December 2013]

Lost Christmas is a sad, melancholy and twisted tale of damaged and seemingly unconnected people in the city of Manchester.

'Goose' is a 10 year old boy who on Christmas Eve hides his dad's car keys in the hope that he will not go to work at Christmas. His dad is a fireman.

However his mum drives him to work and both are killed in a car accident.

A year later, Goose is no longer the bright ten year old kid but a feral streetwise kid who is supporting his grandmother through petty crime.

A mysterious man appears out of nowhere. He calls himself Anthony, he has no recollection of who he is or where he came from. He can find things that are lost.

It sounds like a bleak tale for Christmas, particularly one aimed at families but it is a story about redemption and second chances.

Like a ripple on a pond cause by the throwing of a pebble, you find that the various tragedies that befalls the different characters are somehow interconnected.

Maybe Anthony can find some sort of solace for the lost people around him but can he turn back time?

It may lack the usual Christmas sentimentality that these types of films usually have but it also lacks the cynicism. Lost Christmas is realistic enough to connect with today's kids.

Above Average Christmas Film

[Christmas-Reviewer · 8/10 · 29 May 2019]

Review Date 5/29/2019

I Have Reviewed OVER 500 "Christmas Films and Specials". Please BEWARE Of films and specials with just one review! For instance When "It's a POSITIVE" chances are that the reviewer was involved with the production. "If its Negative" then they may have a grudge against the film for whatever reason. I am fare about these films.

"Lost Christmas" is an Urban Fairy Tale set in Manchester about how a series of tragic events that blight a young boy's life are reversed one Christmas Eve giving him and those around him the happy ending that they were destined to have.

Very good film all around. It is never boring or predictable. Small Children will be board but adult "Should Try Watching"

A Good Movie

[harlock68 · 7/10 · 18 January 2012]

First of all this is a "must see" Christmas movie, and that is because been a tale it becomes personal, and here you have a potentially really good movie. The story is the strongest point, it gives scattered hints or pieces of a puzzle that all come together at the end, and that is by far the best thing of this movie. Unfortunately, I think that everything else fell short, and was treated as a B-movie, from photography to editing down to the actors, that at the end, I feel ,did not performed at the level I would have expected. I really think that the ambiance of a movie is as important as the story itself, and probably taking this story back in time, in a more charming looking atmosphere, (like "The Extraordinary Adventures Of Adele Blanc"),adding a voice in the back that gives you more information about all the characters you meet, and definitely having a better editing and photography would have made this an all time "Classic Christmas Movie". But again watch it, it deserves it.

What about the Ghost of Christmas Lost?

[Fabienne18 · 10/10 · 13 December 2011]

There are numerous Christmas classics that we all know and love. And this year one has been added to the list. Lost Christmas is a poignant story that will touch the hearts of many. We are all familiar with A Christmas Carol, where we meet with the Ghost of Christmas Past, Present and Future. But what if we've forgotten one on this list? What about the Ghost of Christmas Lost?

We start the story of a young boy who goes by the nickname of Goose who receives a puppy as a Christmas present. As he is so keen to go for a walk with his dad and the dog, but his dad cannot join him and so a chain of events is set in motion. This child's simple wish of wanting his dad home rather than going to work will alter the course of many lives.

One night, Frank, Goose's uncle, meets Anthony a man he sees lying in the street, who seems to be babbling nonsense and vanishes as fast as he appears. Anthony seems to have no recollection of who he is, where he came from nor where he's supposed to go but he seems to know things. Find things that are lost and make lives whole again.

The performance of the cast was brilliant and intense. I fell in love with Anthony's innocence, inherent sweetness, fearlessness and brutal honesty. Eddie Izzard's performance is flawless and stellar. The way Eddie brought Anthony to life is done in such a manner that I will remember Anthony for each Christmas to come in my life. He might be the Ghost of Christmas Lost but I'll see him as an Angel too. I have seen almost all of Eddie's work and I must say this performance has to be one of his best.

In casting Larry Mills as Goose, we see a rare performance of a child that brings so much life to a character that he becomes real. I foresee a long career for this young man, that will take him many places. I can't wait to see what he will do next.

John Hay did a marvelous job into bringing the story to life, he has a great vision on how to bring raw emotions to the screen, so much so that you're not simply following a story on a screen but you're right there with them joining them on this incredible adventure. A rare and precious gift to have. The lingering camera shots all over the city bring you to a different world, indeed the world of an urban fairytale.

And in praise of the writers of the story, I love the fact that the story seems to work on so many levels so that both children and adults will appreciate the story. When children grow older and see the film again I am sure they will be amazed at realizing more and more of the underlying story they might have overlooked when younger.

All in all a wonderful, touching, loving Christmas story that will linger with you a long time after the film is done.

The makings of a new Christmas classic

[didi-5 · 24 December 2011]

With all the hype about 'Lost Christmas' I came to it without high expectations, especially after seeing Eddie Izzard in previous dramas and not rating him that highly. However, in the role of the mysterious Anthony, a mystical man of magic without a sense of place, he seems to have found an ideal vehicle for his quirky talent.

We first meet Anthony when Frank (Jason Flemyng) comes across him on a deserted Manchester pavement where the lights mysteriously go on and off. Wearing a name badge on his coat, he has no memory of his life other than an ability to see what others have lost.

Tied in with Frank's story is that of the young thief Goose, who has still coming to terms with the horrible events of last Christmas, spending time with his dog, Mutt.

Taking some inspiration from 'The Christmas Carol' and 'It's a Wonderful Life', this drama weaves together a number of connected stories and situations over an hour and a half running time. It also has a satisfying, although not entirely joyful, twist.

This show could become an enduring classic of Christmas, and if it did, it would be deserved. Well worth a look.

A great Christmas family film

[Hatchorder · 10/10 · 20 December 2011]

There will be those who are critical of the over simplified message of this film, those who feel that Eddie Izzard was not the right person to play the key role but I think that they are over complicating this.

A seasonal film that has you laughing, crying and puzzled in equal measure until the ending glues it all back together. So many threads that in the end all make sense and the parts played by Eddie Izzard, Jason Flemyng and Geoffrey Palmer are stand out for me. The young lad who plays Goose either is a natural, or took direction superbly.

There is only one section that is not researched well, and you will know it when you see it, but that is forgivable to an extent because the rest of the film is so good.

Deserves awards and should become a Christmas Classic every year from now on.

Enjoy it with a glass of wine, cuddled up on the couch with the kids and a box of tissues. Children over the age of 12 will understand all the themes, children under that age will still understand the main theme of the film.

Wonderful Christmas Tale

[adam-varley · 10/10 · 18 February 2012]

Although we missed the original transmission, we have sat and watched this film as a family several times. A lovely heartwarming (but definitely not smoozy) tale. The soundtrack is clever and very atmospheric. Great performances, especially from Eddie Izzard. Although I am a big fan of Christmas and we all like Disney I have to say this film comes highly recommended as an antidote to the disneyfication of Christmas. I have even purchased the 'Happy Prince' by Oscar Wilde which forms part of the story - quite a surprise and very cheaply available on line. If you like Dickens you should like this. Also, check out the Manchester and Salford locations! Give it a try - I hope it is on TV next year and is more hyped - it went under our radar a bit but we did record the repeat.

Average

[deaduncleted · 5/10 · 18 December 2011]

Reasonably well done. Pretty well acted with an originalish take on a Christmas Carol. Eddie Izzard did seem to be playing a toned down version of his stand up piece, and that led to the piece not knowing if it was serious or light hearted. The boy was excellent, as was the uncle, and as always, Geoffrey Palmer, despite his part being so small. The issue I had was the playing of the Grandmother's dementia for laughs. Putting the turkey in the washing machine, buttering Christmas cards; all showed a lack of respect, and most likely a team of writers who have no idea of the difficulties of the disease. It really spoiled an otherwise decent piece. Shame.

In which Mr Eddie Izzard holds time in the palm of his hand....

[ianlouisiana · 10/10 · 19 December 2011]

I'm a sucker for tales about redemption,and in "Lost Christmas" we have several redemptions for the price of one,interwoven round a brilliant performance by Mr Eddie Izzard as a kind of Clarence the angel waiting to earn his wings.A small boy hides his father's car keys at Christmas,triggering a series of events that expand like the ripples on a pond into a series of minor and major tragedies that are seemingly unconnected until the apparently amnesiac Anthony (Mr Izzard)arrives to eventually turn chaos into order,changing history at the same time. Like "Quantum Leap" with added holly and mistletoe really. I found it to be moving and generous of spirit,refreshingly lacking in the smart cynicism that infects so much TV today.If you want post - modern irony for Christmas,go and look elsewhere. At the end no one actually says "God bless us one and all",but the message is the same.

Despite the familiar-feeling storyline

[yusufpiskin · 10/10 · 3 November 2019]

I don't know why this urban festive fairytale from 2011 doesn't get repeated every Christmas as - taking its cue from A Christmas Carol and It's A Wonderful Life, though still being distinctive enough in its own right - it has all the hallmarks of being an enduring, evergreen seasonal classic.

In turn, heartwarming and poignantly bittersweet, Lost Christmas rarely puts a foot wrong and in the central role, Eddie Izzard both impresses and suggests he has a future at the helm of the TARDIS should he ever consider it.

Films that rely upon divine intervention for their happy endings are, for the rational minded amongst us, inherently sad. For instance, most people think of It's a Wonderful Life (1946) as being a feel-good film, when in reality it is nothing of the sort. Remove the fantastical from the story, and all you are left with is one decidedly dead George Bailey. Whilst others are crying at the beautiful miracle of its resolution, the rest of us are left to cry at the tragedy of it all. And so for me, it is this other-worldly element, in all its brazen unreality, that underlines and accentuates the earthy crappiness that sits just below the surface of such tales to such a level that no social-realist misery-fest could ever hope to match it.

Which brings me to this charmingly diverting though decidedly imperfect "urban fairy-tale" - a child-centred cross between the aforementioned yuletide favourite and Charles Dickens's much filmed novella A Christmas Carol (1843) (with a bit of Shameless thrown in for good measure), in which a mysterious amnesia-suffering stranger (Izzard) helps several people, in particular an orphaned young boy (Mills), to find a number of seemingly-though-not-actually-unrelated things that they have lost, on an snowy Manchester Christmas Eve.

Despite the familiar-feeling storyline, Hay's reasonably well crafted film is seldom predictable, and its performances are all fine. However, Wiseman's score often feels rather intrusive and is more than a tad manipulative in spots, dampening its emotional power by overemphasising it. Nevertheless, by the time it reaches its surprisingly powerful conclusion, you'd have to be a particularly hard-hearted person not to be moved by its (not-really) happy ending in some way.

Lost Christmas Finds True Spirit

[scrain1022 · 10/10 · 24 December 2022]

This is one of my personal favorite Christmas films. Emotional and poignant, it deals with themes of grief, redemption, and kindness. It's not really a children's movie, but definitely a family film. Adults, especially will appreciate the deeper meaning of a story that draws from the familiar and still feels fresh. This film harmonizes reality with magic in a way that feels believable, if only in spirit. I also love the musical score.

This has become a holiday classic for my family. Also, my all time favorite performance of Eddie Izzard who not only stars, but is also an executive producer of the film.

Classic Christmas movie, undiscovered!

[hvkbgxm · 10/10 · 3 December 2023]

How have I not seen this Classic Christmas movie before? It's got Christmas, it's got a big heart and it's got snow. It's about love and loss, the bonds that tie family, Christmas and making good. Not only that, It's got Suzie Eddie Izzard in acting mode. Be ready to chuckle then gulp back a tear. Incredibly it was made in less than a month, against a budget that was pulled in the first couple of days of filming and still smashed it. A jewel of a Christmas movie to enjoy. Put the fire on, pour a nice glass of red, cuddle up on the sofa and ride the twists and turns of this feel good movie perfect for Christmas. I'm so glad to have found this movie finally!

Stark and satisfying

[d-h-martin · 8/10 · 30 December 2020]

This picture is dark and challenging, but ultimately satisfying in a bitter sweet sort of way. Finally, we have Christmas movie that that gets at the real "meaning" of Christmas without shrinking away from real life.

It is gritty and tough, but uplifting and dares viewers to consider their own lives, and challenges us to be better humans.

Eddie Izzard's quirky performance is at once endearing and edgy.

Most if not all Christmas movies have a kind of miracle (even if it's a subtle one) at their center. Most of the time the miracle is unearned. One can't say that about this picture.