10 alternative frosty films from Curzon Home Cinema’s “A Winter’s Tale” collection

Forget feel-good festive films and happy ending holiday programming this winter, and dive head first into some of these icy cold delights from Curzon Home Cinema‘s A Winter’s Tale collection, which has been unleashed today! Some boast big names such as Mads Mikkelsen and Jennifer Lawrence, while others come from adored auteurs, and/or have been lauded with the industry’s most coveted awards. The connective sinew between all of these, however, is their total defiance of the usual festive tropes, in spite of their wintery settings. So do yourself a favour and check out something a little bit different this Christmas, courtesy of Curzon Home Cinema.

The Hunt (2012)

Hannibal‘s Mads Mikkelsen stars in this critically lauded Danish drama from Thomas Vinterberg, which looks at the mass hysteria surrounding a man wrongly accused of sexually abusing a child in his kindergarten class – all while he struggles over his son’s custody. Set in a picturesque village around Christmas time, this unique film explores how a life can be shattered by an innocent little lie.

Winter’s Bone (2010)

Jennifer Lawrence stars in her breakout role as Ree, an independent mountain dwelling teen forced to support her family in light of her mother’s illness and the absence of her criminal father. Setting out into the bleak yet hauntingly beautiful surrounds of the Ozark Mountains to locate her dad, who put the family home up for bond and then disappeared, Ree must challenge the local code of silence and family ties to protect her mother and younger siblings from eviction.

Stranger Than Paradise (1984)

An early title from idiosyncratic auteur Jim Jarmusch, this deadpan, nonchalant comedy exudes pure cool, making it worthy of inclusion in our frosty films list. The minimalist three-act story stars a duo none other than jazz musician John Lurie and Sonic Youth drummer Richard Edson, who travel from New York City to Cleveland to track down a visiting Hungarian cousin. A hipsters’ road trip delight.

Beyond The Hills (2012)

Awarded the prize for Best Screenplay at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, this Romanian drama from Christian Mungiu follows two Romanian girls whose lives have taken different paths since they shared a bedroom at a children’s home, as well as a physical relationship together. When Alina, who has been working in Germany, returns home to visit her friend Viochita, it’s clear she wants more than friendship. Yet since Viochita has become a nun in the orthodox church, things between them will be more complex than she’d hoped…

The Epic Of Everest (1924)

This remarkable restoration by the BFI National Archive records the legendary Everest expedition of 1924, which was the third attempt to climb the colossal mountain, and culminated in the deaths of two of the finest climbers of a generation; George Mallory and Andrew Irvine. The original silent film shot by Captain John Noel is given a haunting soundtrack by Simon Fisher Turner in this unmissable new reincarnation.

The Turin Horse (2011)

“In Turin on 3rd January, 1889, Friedrich Nietzsche steps out of the doorway of number six, Via Carlo Alberto. Not far from him, the driver of a hansom cab is having trouble with a stubborn horse. Despite all his urging, the horse refuses to move, whereupon the driver loses his patience and takes his whip to it”, explains director Béla Tarr at the beginning of this Hungarian drama. Comprised of just thirty long takes, the film documents the repetitive daily lives of a horse-owner and his daughter, whose treatment of their horse is said to have caused the mental breakdown of the famous philosopher.

Winter Sleep (2014)

Adapted from Anton Chekhov’s short story “The Wife”, this winner of the Palme d’Or at 2014’s Cannes Film Festival looks at the income and power divides in Turkey, via a pompous Anatolian actor cum hotelier, and the poor tenants on his property, who seek to bring him down to earth. An intensely insightful tale of malice and morality at over three hours long.

The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari (1920)

Expressionist auteur Robert Wiene employs a singularly dark and twisted aesthetic to tell the story of an insane hypnotist, Dr. Caligari, who stands as an allegory for the brutal and irrational authority of the contemporary German war government in this iconic silent horror. Considered by many, including critic Roger Ebert, as ‘the first true horror film’.

The Keeper Of Lost Causes (2013)

Based on the international bestseller by Jussi Adler-Olsen, this cleverly plotted Nordic noir will please fans of The Bridge and The Killing, as a P.I. and his assistant investigate a cold case involving a missing woman. Starring The Killing‘s Nikolaj Lie Kaas in the leading role.

Let The Right One In (2008)

The genre description ‘tween-vampire-horror-romance’ may not sound so appealing to the discerning film buff, yet this intelligent, multi award-winning Swedish film is beautifully affecting, as it examines the relationship between a sensitive, bullied boy and his new friend and neighbour who lives with a macabre secret.

Check out more of our winter-themed film on demand recommendations here and here.