Filmmaker Tadas Vidmantas says he is not looking forward to Christmas
Translated from Lithuanian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.
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- Tadas Vidmantas’s comedy “Not Looking Forward to Christmas” will reach Lithuanian cinemas at the end of November.
- The film follows radio host Vilius as the return of his estranged parents revives old grievances and drives him to extreme efforts to avoid a shared Christmas dinner.
- Vidmantas says the film explores difficult parent-child relationships and his belief that Lithuania needs more family-oriented films.
Tadas Vidmantas is making a Christmas comedy about a man who wants nothing to do with Christmas. His new film, “Not Looking Forward to Christmas,” reaches Lithuanian cinemas at the end of November and turns the familiar holiday formula upside down.
I like that ‘not looking forward’ differs by only one letter from ‘looking forward,’
The story follows Vilius, a popular radio host played by Leonardas Pobedonoscevas, as he prepares for the holidays with his own close family. Then comes the news that his parents are returning to live in Lithuania. They left him to be raised by his grandmother when he was a young boy, and their return brings old grievances back before they have even appeared at the door.
Vilius seems ready to do anything to avoid a joint Christmas dinner. He tries to fly his family to Dubai, gets into a fight, breaks his own bones and even attempts to land in prison. The title suggests that traditional Christmas cheer will be in short supply, but Vidmantas says the contrast is what makes the film funny.
There are truly only a few mythical families in which the parents were happy raising their children, and the children grew up the same way. Children’s relationships with their parents are the foundation of happiness and peace.
“I like that ‘not looking forward’ differs by only one letter from ‘looking forward,’” the director says. As in his previous film, “The Millionaire’s Anniversary,” he returns to the relationship between parents and children. He says only a few families escape trouble in those relationships and calls them a foundation of happiness and peace.
Although it was fun to make then, and it is still fun to watch that comedy now, I have matured a little. I cannot bring myself to say ‘I have grown up,’ because that would be a lie. Becoming a father, I understand my parents better today. As much as one sometimes does not want to admit it, family is one of the most important things in a person’s life.
Becoming a father has also changed how Vidmantas sees his own parents. “Family is one of the most important things in a person’s life,” he says. He wants more films that families can watch together and discuss afterward, rather than children’s films or animation. Vidmantas, who has made several popular Lithuanian comedies and created the family animated series “Babaužiukai” with his wife Lina, says his latest film will bring different tones to the cinema screen.
There are not many such films, and there are none from Lithuania at all. I think it is time to bring family films back to cinema screens.
About this summary
Originally published by Delfi in Lithuanian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.
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