20 non-traditional Christmas movies to watch this year

14. Anthropoid

Watch if: You’re a history buff. Or, conversely, if you like seeing handsome, buff men re-enact scenes from history.

What it’s about: Based on actual events, two soldiers parachute into Nazi-occupied Prague in order to complete Operation Anthropoid, the plan to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich. Heydrich was the SS’ third in command and the man who developed the Final Solution.

Connection to Christmas: Slight, but significant. Josef Gabcík (Cillian Murphy) and Jan Kubis (Jamie Dornan) first arrive in Czechoslovakia shortly before Christmas. The also begin collecting information on the German soldiers and Heydrich at a New Year’s Eve party.

Why it makes for good holiday entertainment: Resistance has been a major theme and topic of discussion in 2017, so I can’t think of a better time to watch a film about two ordinary men who changed the course of World War II due to their ideals, sense of duty, and sometimes seemingly futile actions. (Although, to be fair, Anthropoid’s official logline, “Resistance Has a Code Name,” is truly worthy of a Liz Lemon-level eye roll.)

Also, there’s just something about WWII films that has a Christmas-y ambience. Maybe it’s nostalgia because WWII was the last war that felt unquestionably and morally justified. Maybe it’s because war stories tend to be epic-with-a-capital-E, like many classic films that get a lot of play at Christmas. (I’m looking at you, Great Escape, Ben-Hur, Sound of Music, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and The Wizard of Oz.) Or, most likely, it’s because WWII narratives often suggest that compassion and bravery can triumph over evil, something we strive to remember at Christmas.