(courtesy IMDb (c) Netflix)
Finding the perfect anything in a very imperfect world is a challenge at the best of times, but even more so at Christmas, ironically because it’s at this time of year, when people yearn the most for this flawlessly elusive state, that they seem to miss it more often than they don’t.
That’s true of streaming and movies as much as life itself, and it becomes readily apparent when you watch as many festive shows as this review does; everyone is reaching for the brass ring of Christmas viewing perfection, summoning up all the festive feels with an eye very much on the heartwarming prize, but so few actually get there and end up creating something long-lasting and classic in nature.
Among that hallowed few, however, you can now counter the superlatively good nuanced story of people stuck in an airport one night in the lead-up to Christmas (the 23rd to be exact), all of whom are battling storms just as fierce within as the plane-grounding one raging remorselessly without.
The Norwegian-set and produced limited series, A Storm for Christmas, is that perfect coming together of season and humanity that works without stumbling once, keeping multiple strands burbling along without losing focus on any of them, and even when it appears some of the stories are fading to nothing much, it surprises you by taking you somewhere quite special and deeply affecting.
It takes its time telling these stories too, giving us wide sweeping shots as people traverse the wide barrenness of the terminal shinily glossy and well-trod floors or following them closely behind as they enter the terminal, go through security head up escalators, all of them in a ceaseless run to be somewhere.
And unlike many other series set at this time of year which a burdensome need to be relentlessly upbeat – look, we want escapist and upbeat at Christmas because it’s that time of year and we’re exhausted by the brutal vagaries of life but too much and it all feels far too saccharine – A Storm for Christmas moves gracefully and movingly between rom-com elements and those of a more dark and reflective nature.
The thing is that they all work, and while many people who start off as strangers do intersect, mainly around a bar overseen by Marius (Jon Øigarden) who is dealing with some overshadowing news that is threatening to overcome his seemingly endless reserve of thoughtfully welcoming bonhomie, not all do; even so, their stories somehow impact on all the others, emphasising that in an environment where people are often close together but entirely separate, we can’t help but build some sort of community, however fleeting at Christmas.
The other interesting part of A Storm for Christmas which brings all the feels but in such an honest and non-manipulative, quietly spoken but devastatingly impactful way, is that it rightly observes that life doesn’;t stop just because it’s Christmas.
Husband and wife, Sindre and Trine (Oscar Jean and Line Verndal respectively) don’t stop snarking at each other as they race to catch their flight and their beleaguered daughter Kaja (Talia Lorentzen) doesn’t stop cringing at every barb and icily raised voice.
Not does mega popstar Ida (Ida Elise Broch) and her assistant, songwriting aspirant Ingvild (Evelyn Rasmussen Osazuwa) find eash accommodation with the other or an irritable, plain-speaking Santa named Alex (Ibrahim Faal) find some peace with a job he’s does on the side to pay the rent.
Ever smiling and empathetic priest Ronja (Maibritt Saerens) doesn’t stop questioning her usefulness to others (even as she materially impacts lives), fading celebrity pianist Anders Berg ((Dennis Storhøi) come to grips with a career sliding into the abyss, or worried mother Maria (Ariadna Cabrol) stop fretting over whether they’ll make it to the hospital in time for a critically important operation that will save the sight of her musically talented son Lukas (Iker Pedraza Proskauer).
There are so many wondrously good and empathetically observed stories in A Storm for Christmas, some of which end happily – the rom-com loveliness of exhaustedly disillusioned pilot Olav (Ravdeep Singh Bajwa) and Diana (Hanna Ardéhn), a romantically sweet social media influencer is a thing of quiet joy and flawed but repaired humanity – and some which do not – Stine (Sus Wilkins) who is trying desperately to reach her boyfriend but why? Is it worth it? – but all of them speak of our need for connectivity and belonging and how our spirits suffer markedly when it’s absent.
There are those who actively seek it in A Storm for Christmas such as irrepressibly upbeat traveller David (Jan Gunnar Røise) who’s off to Málaga to meet his wife for Christmas or who seek to do good simply for the sake of it like Henrik the baggage handler (Valter Skarsgård) but not everyone understands at the start how important it is to find common ground with others, even at airport which screams impermanence and fleetingness in normal circumstances.
Ah, but the circumstances of A Storm for Christmas are not normal and therefore, neither is the airport with the violently snowy act of mother nature creating a setting in which the usual rules of travel simply don’t apply and people, perhaps a little more raw and a little more hopeful at Christmas, finally discover over six perfectly-formed and emotionally nuanced episodes, which build with real care one upon the other, what it is they want or need in their lives.
Not everyone gets a happy ending, or at least not a perfect one, but what A Storm for Christmas does beautifully is speak to the need we all have to be understood, to connect, to belong and to be true to ourselves and have others truly know that authenticity, and against a backdrop of cancelled flights and gaily decorated terminals, it tells its stories with so much heart and empathy that you reach the end of it sad that everyone finally, once the storm abates, gets to keep going on their way.
But over the course of one festive night, hearts and priorities have changed and so even as you bid farewell to everyone, and it’s honestly wrenching to say goodbye because you care so much about everyone )all realised with near universally great performances; awards for all!), you are buoyed by how Christmas can change people and how lives, after just one hothouse series of moments, can change forever, mostly for the better.