A delightfully goofy and touching take on Christmas myth-making. In the movie’s telling, the holiday was was borne out of the collaboration between a sorrowful lumberjack, a sleazy postal clerk, a disgruntled teacher, and a community of ice-sailing Sami. It was, of course, conceived as a con to manufacture demand for postal services, but ended up bringing a sense of joy and togetherness to the town. This narrative is irreverent and amusing in all the right ways, and it’s fleshed out by fantastic world-building at every turn. The island community of Smeerensburg, with its endless feuding, nightmare-inducing children, and disgruntled civil servants, is the perfect setting. Never before has a Christmas movie reminded me so much of The Wicker Man. Going forward, I think I’ll be sad when they don’t. Klaus is a real surprise. My only regret is that I didn’t watch it sometime last month.