A Christmas Visitor Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		2.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

A Christmas Visitor Blu-ray Movie Review

A fine Christmas picture features strong video quality.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman December 12, 2011

You gotta let go.

Tuning into ABC Family or the Hallmark Channel (or the wife's DVR that's full of this year's -- and last year's, which are more or less the same as this year's -- Christmas movies) these days yields a pretty steady stream of cheerful RomCom made-for-TV Holiday fare that's not absent spirit but that is rather thin in terms of purpose, authenticity, and heart. Sure it's always fun to see the boy and girl fall in love amidst the backdrop of some wild Christmastime setting or event gone terribly awry, but where most of these movies come up short is in their lack of substance. Not everything can be -- nor should be -- of the the more sentimental, tearjerking variety, but it's truly in those Christmas movies that find a purpose outside of derivative situational humor in which the true spirit of the season and the purpose behind the holiday may be found. A Christmas Visitor is a well made, occasionally tearful, and very meaningful movie about the magic of the Christmas season but, more importantly, the strength that defines the fabric of family, friends, community, hope, and faith. It's a subtle and heartfelt movie that doesn't necessarily, even, apply strictly to Christmas, but its message on the strength of family, of the healing power of hope, of the spirit of belief make it a well-rounded movie that will speak to anyone celebrating the holidays with an empty seat at the table and a healing hole in the heart.

Healing.

Vietnam Veteran George Boyajian (William Devane) is grieving the loss of his son John (Aaron Ashmore) who perished in Operation Desert Shield. Its been more than a decade since George lost John, also the length of time he, his wife Carol (Meredith Baxter), and daughter Jean (Reagan Pasternak) have abstained from celebrating Christmas. The family has yet to move on; Carol remains grief-stricken, Jean still misses her brother, and George is a regular visitor at the town's war memorial where John's name is forever inscribed. Jean is battling a potentially terrible medical diagnosis, further jeopardizing the family's stability and future. George decides, seemingly out of the blue, that it's time to move on and once again celebrate Christmas. His tightly-knit community is more than happy to help him out, generously donating Christmas goods to their friend in hopes of helping him through the healing process. One evening, George nearly avoids a terrible automobile accident. A kindly drifter comes to his aid, and George invites him into his home for the night. Will this mystery man, Matthew (Dean McDermott), who claims to have served in the same unit as John during Desert Shield, be the final piece of the puzzle in the rebuilding of the family's traditions, faith, and future?

Some might find in A Christmas Visitor what may be construed as a major flaw: it's not realistic. Though it's set in modern times, the movie hearkens back to a completely different time and place, a place where "everybody knows your name," where everybody cares, everybody understands and feels one another's pain, and everybody desperately wants to see their hurt friends through their hardships. The film displays the very definition of community, which is critical to the story and its themes. It's a movie about healing, and discovering that healing isn't just about the passage of time and the lessening of the pain but rather genuine compassion, understanding, and faith in something better, something that once existed and can -- and will -- exist again. The movie is rather mysterious when it's all said and done, going so far as to elicit something of a supernatural undertone that runs through much of the story, but then again, faith, hope, and love are all things which are themselves unseen in the physical realm. They're emotions and ideas better left given from the heart and received in the soul, yet they are not always understood even as they are displayed through kindly actions and encouraging words rather than given and taken like some commodity of which there is only a limited supply, as they sometimes are. In that way, the movie is incredibly realistic; it's about real people, real emotions, real struggles, and a real conveyance of heart and spirit. If only the world were as realistic as the movie.

A Christmas Visitor isn't a movie about the hows or the whys. The movies leaves much to the imagination of its audience; it doesn't explain everything down to the last detail, and it doesn't have to. The picture succeeds through creating a believable but nevertheless incredible spirit that's more an undercurrent than it is a dazzling display that dominates the picture. This is steady, low-key filmmaking, a style which greatly enhances its meaning and purpose. The cast is superb, playing things straight; the picture never comes off as corny or phony but instead as genuine as a relatively short, low budget picture may be. William Devane delivers an even, sincere effort as a grieving father who yearns to move on with his life but who needs a few little sparks -- the arrival of the Christmas season, the kindness of his neighbors, and the sudden appearance of a stranger who will allow him to let go of the past -- to convince his family and his spirit that it's all right to move on, not to forget, but to remember, to live, to do as their fallen son would have them do: cherish the past and make new memories for the future. Television staple Meredith Baxter is excellent as the mother who hasn't come to terms with the past, and Reagan Pasternak is solid as the daughter struggling through the past and fearful of the future. Dean McDermott sparks the movie thanks to his wonderful, genuine chemistry with William Devane; their relationship is the film's key to success, and McDermott pulls it off wonderfully, remaining mysterious but at the same time molding himself into the person the family needs to meet in order to move on towards its future. The cast is marvelous, and the film's supporting players, particularly all of the actors portraying the little friendly bit parts who help encourage George towards celebrating Christmas again, make the movie complete.

A Christmas Visitor Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

A Christmas Visitor features a stable and capable 1080p, 1.78:1-framed transfer. It yields a solid color foundation, whether through balanced flesh tones, the red and blue storefronts in town, the naturally green Christmas trees, or the various shades on clothing. There's no dullness and no unnatural warmth; this is an even, good-looking palette. Black levels are quite good, too, yielding no major crush and never going a shade of dark gray. Fine detail is very good, aided by strong clarity. Facial and clothing textures are borderline excellent, and general objects and building façades are natural and complex. The image is crisp and aided by the retention of a light layer of grain. The only real problem comes in the form of random pops, spots, and speckles that are consistent but infrequent guests throughout the film. Otherwise, this one is free of excess banding, blocking, or other unwanted elements. This is easily one of Echo Bridge's best transfers, if not the best.

A Christmas Visitor Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

A Christmas Visitor features a rather bland PCM 2.0 uncompressed soundtrack. This is a classic example of a soundtrack that's all about the basics. It's extremely limited in range, clarity, and immersion, but it's up to the challenge of delivering a baseline listening experience. Dialogue is the center of the film and the main element in this track; it plays on the straight and narrow in the middle, never drifting, never losing clarity, and never competing with the few effects the track produces. Ambience is limited to the front, and mostly the middle of the stage. Little odds and ends set the stage in a few scenes, but the town never really springs to life as it might in a better engineered track. Music is fair, lacking a bit clarity and space but playing nicely enough around the front portion of the soundstage. That's all there really is to this one; it's made of basic elements that are handled adequately, nothing more and nothing less.

A Christmas Visitor Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of A Christmas Visitor contains no supplemental features.

A Christmas Visitor Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A Christmas Visitor is about as heartfelt and sincere as a made for television Christmas movie may be. It excels in painting a true-to-life picture of grief, and the progression towards the future while moving away from -- but not forgetting -- the past is natural and believable, even as the movie dabbles in some higher supernatural power that's never fully explained but that, really, doesn't have to be. Solid acting and a good, purposeful message make A Christmas Visitor a wonderful Holiday-themed Christmastime film fit for the whole family. Echo Bridge's Blu-ray release of A Christmas Visitor features surprisingly strong video and decent audio, but the disc contains no extra features. Recommended on the strength of the movie and the video transfer.