In Italy we make Christmas comedies that are forbidden to minors, not for sexual content, vulgarity or bloody scenes, but because they include “blasphemous” themes and stories for the sacred Christmas canon, which is not the one linked to the birth of Jesus Christ but rather the myth of a gentleman with a protruding belly and a white beard who brings gifts to children.

This is the case of Christmas Without Santa, a film released on Prime Video from November 28th (at midnight), but already in the days preceding the release the preview was available in the catalog of Amazon’s streaming platform, with an “18+” indication which frankly seems to clash with a story “perhaps a little silly but very tender and cute”, as our wife, with whom we shared the vision after putting the minors to bed, defined it.

Christmas Without Santa is directed by Stefano Cipani (Physical Education) and written by Michela Andreozzi (director of films such as Pensati Sexy and Unicorns, recently also a competitor in The Traitors Italia), who also appears in the film as the school principal. At the center of the story there is a Roman Santa Claus, as in I am Santa Claus, the last film with the great Gigi Proietti who passed the baton to Marco Giallini. In this case the role was assigned – by almost divine intervention – to Nicola played by Alessandro Gassmann, who however decided to take a holiday. Here is the plot and analysis of Christmas Without Santa, of which you can find the official trailer at the bottom of the review.

What is Christmas without Santa about?

Gassmann is precisely Nicola, designated for some years as Klaus XVI, the most recent holder of a role which, in this film, has been passed from hand to hand for centuries through “choices of the heart”. Except that Nicola is not a nice old man with a big belly and a white beard, but a middle-aged Roman with a son called Lampo (Paolo Calvano) who goes to primary school, a teenage daughter called Stella (Rita Longordo) and his beloved wife Margaret (Luisa Ranieri) who, behind the scenes, runs her husband’s business with commitment and sacrifice.

And the life of Santa Claus is not very simple when the organization of the night of December 25th mixes with family management and he joins up with a partner who does not allow distractions and who drags his spouse to couple therapy sessions (with Angela Finocchiaro) in which one cannot reveal one’s identity, despite living in a world in which Santa Claus exists and holds press conferences with journalists from the capital. It therefore happens that the good Nicola decides to take a holiday in the most important month for him and for children all over the world.

And therefore Margaret must find a way to run the business without her husband, and also having to keep two of Klaus’ “rivals” at bay, namely the Befana (Caterina Murino) and Santa Lucia (Valentina Romani). Nicola, for his part, will come across a hotelier (Diego Abatantuono) and a young woman (Francesca Alice Antonini) who will seriously put him to the test.

Why see Christmas without Santa

There is some passage that is not well understood in the story of this film. And we are not referring to the “feminist” ending which, as we said at the beginning, is particularly blasphemous if judged on the basis of age-old rules: it is Michela Andreozzi’s touch, and it suits us quite well, in our opinion.

Rather, what we have not clearly focused on is the narrative universe, the context in which the characters move. That is: if Santa Claus is a real figure and recognized by everyone, why do the rules of the magical world prevent Nicola from revealing himself? And why does dutiful Margaret want to break this rule? Again: Stella and Lampo know the work and identity of their father, whose reputation they defend from bullies, but they don’t reveal the truth, not even to their friends, and no one deduces it from his strange behavior?

Putting these doubts aside, however, Christmas Without Santa is still a successful comedy in its attempt to find an original perspective on a character who has had thousands of transpositions on the screen, often all the same.

Humanizing the one who gives joy to the whole world, and therefore making it clear that we have never been interested in his joy, is a brilliant and fun idea. As well as that of valorising not only those who work behind the scenes, i.e. the elves, but also historical Italian colleagues of Babbo, the Befana and Santa Lucia.

The final result is therefore a somewhat naive, almost naive film, which however is appreciated for the tenderness and sweetness that carry the story forward until a rather surprising ending. As for the fact that the film is reserved for adults, in our opinion it is definitely exaggerated.

Rating: 6.5