Luca Guadagnino's Christmas tale "O Night Divine" is a magical spectacle to the senses where anything can happen at a hotel on the Swiss Alps. A young down-on-luck street
singer (Alex Wolff) gets thrown from the entrance of a fancy hotel, but luck comes his way when a loaded credit card falls into his hands which grants a stay there. However, the
hotel manager (Hailey Gates) is suspicious of him since she saw see him outside and she keeps finding ways to get rid off him. Parallel to this, there's the story of a young girl
neglected by her parents who follows a mysterious man (John C. Reilly) who might be the real Santa Claus.
It's a series of curious vignettes, at times with humor, other times playing a little serious but it has a full positive effect overall. It has a vibe from a silent film during
the early minutes, than moves to present the Scrooge-like hotel manager and her bossy ways with a recently promoted assistant (Samia Benazzouz) who tries her best to please the boss.
But the elegance and exuberance from the place, the festivities later on, it all conquers with plenty of style and refinement - not sure why but I was reminded of "The Grand Budapest
Hotel", it's a quite grandiose experience that feels like magic yet you believe in everything.
A perfect kind of movie to spend the holidays, with humor, lightness, and with a positive strong message to show. With some thoughtout ideas and a better presentation of
certain events this could be perfect (I imagine what would be like if being made as a feature with a longer running time). It's pretty good but it could have been great. Mr. Reilly
was a fun treat as the Kris Kringle guy. 8/10.
