Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

The acting wasn't that great and the homes as everyone else keeps mentioning are well kept for poor people during the depression. The home that the Kamps lived in was very nice and large for a poor family with 5 kids. However, the story line was the true meaning of Christmas. I am one that doesn't look for perfection in movies. I look at the meaning. I am very sappy.My son is a literary agent and every since he went to Film School, I have learned more about what goes into rating films than I ever wanted to know. He would have not liked the poor quality or the acting of the film. I liked the film because of the substance. I look at all the Christmas movies on Hallmark and UP every year (over and over) and all the others I can catch on other channels and I like them because I am a sappy person. I gave it an 8 because of it's substance. Had the quality been better it would have rated a 10. That is just my sappy take on it.

One Of The Best Movies To Demonstrate The True Meaning Of Christmas. It Is Very Family Oriented And Did Not Have To Worry About Covering My Childs Eyes At All. The Actors All Seemed As Humble As The characters They Were Playing I Would Recommend It To Everyone. It Proves That No Matter What Honesty Always Wins In The End. No Matter How HardHearted Some One Is Kindness Can Always Touch SomeOnes Tough Heart. Little Norman Is The Bravest Of All The Characters But Ruthie Is The Heart Of The Movie. This Movie Did Make Me Cry Because Of The True Meaning Of Christmas That Was Shared By Each Of The Children The Movie. There Is Not A Better Christmas Movie Out This Year It Is A Must See.

Way better than I was expecting. At first, I was thinking "these are some pretty modern hairstyles for a bunch of people living in the depression", and "look at all these well kept homes that these look more like This is the Place state park than the dust bowl". But it didn't take long for the story to suck me in and even bring me close to tears a couple of times, and I'm a stoic dude. I knew it wasn't just me when my 9-year old had to leave the room because he couldn't bear to watch the developing conflict in the story line. Obviously, this isn't a high budget production, but if you can suspend your disbelief for a bit, you and your family will be entertained while learning some valuable lessons in the process.

While the idea for a Christmas movie was good, I actually blame low budgets, bad casting, (which is usually tied to low budgets) and awful directing. There were several scenes not lasting more than 30 to 45 seconds or less then just abruptly ending. Very strange. The actress playing the school teacher, Heather Beers was terrible. She cannot act and sincerely needs to learn the craft or move on to something else. The young boy stole the show along with the little girl that played his sister Ruthie. Even with a low budget, this film could have been so much better with better directing. Some lines were delivered too late, making a conversation between two actors awkward. That's a bad director.