The Chimes

Although A Christmas Carol is far and away the most famous of Charles Dickens' five "Christmas stories," The Chimes (along with The Cricket on the Hearth) is still considered a worthwhile read for Dickens' fans today. Narrated by Derek Jacobi, this exquisite clay-animated production from the same company that made the Carnegie medal award-winning The First Christmas (VL-3/99), tells the tale of poor Toby Veck, a destitute messenger who finds comfort in the tolling of the bells as he huddles in a church doorway awaiting work. On a New Year's Eve day filled with emotional ups and downs, Toby learns that his daughter Meg will be married the following day, rescues a homeless man and his niece from imprisonment, is scoffed at by more financially secure but morally bankrupt customers, and--in a moment of weakness--succumbs to despair...until a dream visitation from "the chimes" impresses upon him the importance of hope. Viewers will recognize echoes of A Christmas Carol here, both in the story itself and in its message. In an interesting aside, the film was made possible by a grant from the Catholic Communication Campaign; Dickens, himself a halfhearted Anglican, was not a fan of Catholicism (which he referred to as "that abominable old priestly institution"), but I'd like to think he would have approved of the "catholic" (i.e., "universal") goodwill behind the making of The Chimes. Warmly recommended. Aud: E, I, P. (R. Pitman)