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It's officially holiday season, at least for Netflix with its latest film The Claus Family. The Dutch-Belgian Christmas special is a wholesome family film highlighting important topics like growing up with grief while still retaining the holiday spirit, making it a must-watch for the holiday season.
Directed by Matthias Temmermans, with Ruben Vandenborre and Elke de Gezelle as writers, it's a fictional tale of Santa Claus’ family with his grandchildren in focus. The premise of The Claus Family is set around the story of young Jules Claus, the party pooper of the holiday season. But this time he has to save Christmas and carry on the tradition after he comes across a family secret.
The Claus Family stars Mo Bakker as Jules Claus, Jan Decleir as Noël Claus, Bracha van Doesburgh as Suzanne, and Stefaan Degand as Holger.
'The Claus Family': Plot summary and review
Summary (Spoilers)
The plot of The Claus Family revolves around the life of protagonist Jules Claus (Mo Bakker) who lives with his mother Suzanne (Bracha van Doesburgh) and little sister Noor (Amber Metdepenningen). The family is sadly grieving the sudden loss of the kids' father who met with an accident. Their mother decides to to move cities and live with her father-in-law (Jan Declair) in an attempt to start afresh.
The reason Jules hates Christmas is because that unfortunate accident took place on the very same day. He chooses not to celebrate it, but his little sister who is still a child, cannot help being lured by the holiday. As soon as they move into the new house, Noor asks her mother for a Christmas tree and decorations.
Suzanne manages to find herself a job in a biscuit factory, and the trio reunite with the grandfather Noel Claus. He looks after the kids while Suzanne is at work leading to Jules stumbling upon his secret when he discovers the magical snow globe that can teleport people from one place to the other. It is revealed that Noel is indeed the real Santa Claus.
It is of course hard for Jules to believe that his grandfather is Santa Claus, but he still lends a helping hand to distribute gifts to all the children before Christmas Day.
Review
The Claus Family (De Familie Claus) is a reimagined Santa’s tale which feels fresh and very apt for the holiday season. Although the movie was released last year, it's never too late for Christmas movies to hit OTT platforms.
Every character of The Claus Family comes across as relatable. Jan Declair's brilliant acting as Noel Claus is mesmerizing, it's exactly what kids would expect a real Santa to be like. Eva van der Gucht, who plays the role of Gunn, stands out with her eccentric, overly dramatic, and humorous character. A specific quote is repeated throughout the movie, especially when times get tough, "Coloring the dark days," which shows the family's positive outlook on life.
As for costume and set design, the film displays it beautifully through vibrant colors making it more Christmas-like. The beautiful score by Anne-Kathrin Dern feels like mistletoe on Christmas Day.
All-in-all The Claus Family is a feel-good film where there's no villain or bad spirit overpowering the hero, but it's all about family and the spirit of Christmas. The film is the perfect watch for lazy winter days when one gets bored with the suspense and thriller genres. It's the type of film one would watch with a hot cup of cocoa as its very comforting due to its Christmas-cliche storyline.
Readers can catch The Claus Family streaming on Netflix and enjoy an early holiday feel.
