Click on any ranking of the greatest Christmas movies of all time and It’s a wonderful life will definitely hang at the top. And well deserved. Mixture Jimmy Stewartordinary charm, Frank Caprarelentless optimism and a message that cuts through even the toughest skin like a knife through butter, make it the perfect Christmas Eve family movie and a reminder of all that the holiday represents. But another Christmas movie starring Stewart often slips from the crevices of the genre canon, forgotten by many in the 80+ years since its release, but savored by those who kept it in their December rotation. The leading man teamed up with the crafty German director Ernst Lubitsch in 1940 and created Shop around the corner. The film may not have retained the same status as Stewart’s more famous Christmas classic released six years later, but the timeless holiday romantic comedy deserves to be kept in the same pantheon and considered one of the best the genre has to offer.
Adapted from a Hungarian play (same source material for You have a new message for all you Meg Ryan fans) Shop around the corner chronicles the events in a small corner shop called Mothers and Co. in Budapest. Stewart plays Alfred Kralik, the store’s head clerk, who begins a thrilling text-to-mail romance with an unknown woman. Margaret Sullivan plays Clara, a peppy new store clerk who clashes with Stuart’s stubborn character. She also finds herself deep in a pen pal relationship. The purpose of the novel is obvious to everyone from the very beginning of the premise, but one has to be clairvoyant to see the path it takes to get to it.
The romantic connection is established early, but the key moment of romantic catharsis seems to be delayed at every turn. The moment of “aha” is repeatedly pushed back, and the audience’s anticipation of love euphoria is constantly discarded. So with a romance that feels stagnant, minds wander, trying to find a reason to keep their eyes on the screen. Given that the love story is present but prefers to take a back seat, which storyline becomes the driving force behind the film’s story. And to answer this question, just look at the title of the film.
More than a romantic comedy
In the very first scene, we are introduced to the employees of Matushek and Co. one by one. There is the quiet but devoted Pirovich, the ambitious messenger Pepi, the restrained clerk Flora, the luxurious saleswoman Ilona, the treacherous and unloved Ferenc, the strict but respected owner Mr. Matushek and, of course, Alfred. We meet all of these characters as they stand outside the corner store, chatting early in the morning before the store opens. We can guess all their personalities from just a five-minute sequence of small talk that occurs in everyday settings. The store is in the center as the focal point of the whole action. The specific relationships between colleagues take precedence over the plight of any individual. Alfred did not even immediately become the main character. He is neither the first nor the last to come to work, and he is welcomed no warmer than anyone else (well, with the exception of Ferenc). It’s easy to overlook given the glitz and glam of the romance contrasting with the mundane of 9-to-5 work life, but the film is primarily about the characters that form the titular location.
As romantic parameters are defined and then subsequently placed in limbo, each character arrives and flows to their own tune, and workplace relationship dynamics are ever-changing. Some bridges have been fortified, some have been burned. But all office politics is seen as just monotonous little ties and grievances between workers that fluctuate solely in the realm of Matushek and company, understood as insignificant in the larger schemes of each of their lives. They do not interact with each other outside the store, do not take work friends and enemies home with them to merge with them in family life. The connections that form inside the walls and windows of the store seem insignificant, because the time spent together is forced. But when the love story and everything else outside the store runs into trouble, the bonds formed at Matuschek and Company remain strong. And this is what more powerful themes are emerging.
What makes it a Christmas movie?
As well as It’s a wonderful life, Shop around the corner is a Christmas movie only insofar as its final scenes take place on the eve of the holiday. But these final scenes are an amalgamation of everything that both films stand for. George Bailey learns that despite the fact that his life is not going according to plan, despite the fact that he was in a seemingly doomed situation, he still has value because he was a good and generous person, and he has a community that will come to his side. In much the same vein, Matuschek and Company workers are learning that their shop-forged connections, connections previously ignored, mean far more than anyone previously realized.
In one of the last moments of the film, when the workers lock the shop doors on Christmas Eve, Mr. Matushek greets every worker heading home to celebrate the holiday. He has no one to spend Christmas with, and it’s clear to viewers that he’s trying to find someone to join him in the celebration, even if it’s just a quiet celebration, just so he’s not alone. He asks each person about their plans for the night, who they are going home with to celebrate. Each of them happily responds without seeing the subtext of their comments. It’s a heartbreaking moment as it seems increasingly likely that the boss who has just been so kind to his employees will have to spend the holiday alone. But finally, the new messenger, just introduced in the movie moments before, comes out the door. Mister Mothers doesn’t even know his own name, but they both discover that no one else has another person to spend Christmas with and excitedly return to the boss’s house to feast. It’s a small bonding moment, but a delight for the two characters who find a respite from their troubles, bonded by a shared experience that would weigh on their souls if they weren’t willing to open up to each other in that very moment. .
Shop around the corner is a top-notch Christmas movie because it’s a community celebration that we often overlook. The film acknowledges how we try to look beyond our own lives to find fulfillment, thinking that there is nothing wonderful enough in our own day-to-day existence to be of any value. But after all the turbulence, we can realize that we don’t sacrifice, we don’t agree when we decide that the people around us are all we need. Even romance works at the same level. Only after all the pretense is shattered and put away do the two love interests realize that they were too blinded by the need for extravagance to realize the satisfaction they thought only existed in a world separate from their own had all the time. their legs. Shop around the corner slowly casts aside the expectations of both characters and viewers to expose the importance of everyone we often overlook and celebrates them for always being exactly where we need them to be. And what better Christmas message than this?
Source: Collider
