A Child's Christmas in Wales

Based on Dylan Thomas' short, rich reminiscence, Don McBrearty's 1986 adaptation wisely retains the poet's glorious prose (originally a series of radio readings that were published posthumously): “I can never remember whether it snowed for six days and six nights when I was twelve or twelve days and twelve nights when I was six. All the Christmases roll down toward the two-tongued sea, like a cold and headlong moon bundling down the sky that was our street….” Denholm Elliott sparkles as the grandfather who relates stories about his childhood Christmas experiences to his grandson: the smoke at Mrs. Prothero's house caused by her husband's cigar (wildly and liberally doused with water by local firefighters); the Christmas presents (“books that told me everything about the wasp, except why”), the uncles (“there are always Uncles at Christmas”) sleeping off their dinners in living room chairs, or aunts enjoying a rare vacation (“Aunt Hannah, who liked port, stood in the middle of the snowbound back yard, singing like a big-bosomed thrush”), and—interspersed throughout—the simple pleasures of a young boy walking through snow-shrouded village streets, constantly observing life around him. Sporting excellent acting and topnotch period sets and costumes, the nicely-filmed A Child's Christmas in Wales perfectly captures both the heart and the overall tone of Thomas' little classic. Highly recommended. Aud: P. (R. Pitman)