«The Man Who Invented Christmas»

The film «The man who invented Christmas» is about the British writer Charles Dickens who was already famous in Great Britain at that time, but, unfortunately, was currently in a creative stupor and could not come up with a plot for a new book, and all previous attempts were not very successful.

The film «The Man Who Invented Christmas» is about the British writer Charles Dickens who was already famous in Great Britain at that time, but, unfortunately, was currently in a creative stupor and could not come up with a plot for a new book, and all previous attempts were not very successful. This film reflects the author’s deep inner drama, experiences, and problems and also the backside of being a writer - here Dickens created his masterpiece «A Christmas Story» about the Spirits of Christmas.

As befits a great writer, Charles was very unusual, even strange, detached from the real world, and lived life in his scenarios with his characters (it seemed to him that they were constantly with him and dictated to him all the words and made suggestions about his works, often argued with him and sometimes simply jittered him). He often talked with his characters not only in his office behind closed doors but also in public places, trying to fight them off somehow. Of course, in the modern world, psychiatrists could diagnose him with schizophrenia or some other serious mental disorder, but at that time such diagnoses were not made, and everything was attributed to his creative intolerance and genius because no one could stand Dickens for more than two hours, even his close friend, as his energy was so strong that people quickly tired of him emotionally and psychologically.

His wife Catherine was his reliable rear not only at home, but also in life (this is how it is shown in the film, although these facts are a little contradictory to historical ones), because she was able to withstand all his outbursts and nervous breakdowns, and most importantly, she remained in a harmonious state, because living in one house with a genius is not a task for a person with weak nerves. Even she did not always understand when he was really angry and upset, and when he was in his imagination flying somewhere in the clouds, other dimensions, spaces, or another planet.

An interesting fact is that all the characters of «A Christmas Story» are real. Because Charles, like all writers, was very observant and careful, he wrote down all the stories, images, and characters from people he saw and knew and from real-life circumstances. Watching from the outside how a literary masterpiece that we all know very well was created is not only interesting but also educative. It becomes obvious how real everything is in the books and how it is connected with the life of the author himself.

The culmination of the film reveals to us the very essence of the problem: Dickens wrote a lot about himself, about his experiences and childhood traumas, which he closed both for himself and the world around him behind seven castles, but during the writing of «A Christmas Story» they all began to fall out, as from "Pandora's box". And Charles had to meet them face to face, to return to his childhood literally and figuratively, to go to the place where it all began and to the very place where the internal strain occurred, to remember everything that happened, to experience it once again and with ease let everything go from his heart, thereby freeing himself from the shackles and prison that have bound, oppressed and tormented him for years.

Of course, it is worth paying attention to Charles's relationship with his father - because he despised and was ashamed of him since childhood after all those circumstances that changed his life. He bought his parents a house far from London so that he would not see his father, giving him a certain amount of money every month as ransom. But with such behavior, he did not solve the problem he simply distanced himself from it. And in any case, at the end of the film, as in real life, he had to open this question and look at his father from a different angle - with gratitude that he gave him his life and gave what he could give at that moment and under that circumstances.

A very sensitive film that is interesting to watch both as a beautiful fairy tale, as a psychological autobiographical film, and as a guidebook for young writers.

September 11, 2022