20 non-traditional Christmas movies to watch this year

8. Fargo

Watch if: If a white Christmas is your idea of a beautiful day.

What it’s about: Police chief Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand) solves the multiple, convoluted murders set in motion by the truly ridiculous Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy).

Connection to Christmas: Pretty much non-existent. But I defy you to watch Fargo — with its snow-covered landscapes, blizzards, and heavy Nordic sweaters — and not think of Christmas at least once.

Why it makes for good holiday entertainment: Like Anthropoid, Fargo argues that ordinary, decent people can be a major force for good and progress in this world. However, more than any other film on this list, Fargo is also the perfect balance of comedy and drama, darkness and light, farce and cautionary tale.

Neither Jerry nor his criminal cohorts (Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare) are the brightest bulbs, but they do catastrophic damage. They endanger innocent people, kill, and destroy lives, and all for “a little money.” On the other hand, despite her optimism and sweetness, Marge is smart and great at her job. She solves the crimes and gets justice for the victims, but that doesn’t bring back the dead or give Scotty Lundegaard (Tony Denman) his parents back. Marge is fighting the good fight, but it’s just a drop in the bucket from a macro perspective.

I’d argue that for most people, the holidays are neither 100 percent happy nor 100 percent sad. Christmas is emotionally complex. So it makes sense to watch a film like Fargo on Christmas Day, a film that makes itself at home in the depths of emotional complexity and in the middle of winter.