Dulce evocación

A crazy-quilt of drama and emotions, initially with a holiday theme, about three elderly New York businessmen, workaholics who have unintentionally become hermits, finding themselves friendless on Christmas Eve; after throwing their wallets out into the street, they are greeted with two honest souls (a soft-spoken, singing cowboy and a kindergarten teacher) who eventually fall in love...and that's just the beginning of the story! The narrative takes on a bundle of different themes (unexpected death, youthful romance, the cause and effect of success, after-life fantasy), yet the end results are fairly smooth (although, after the forty-minute mark, the picture becomes almost a different movie altogether). Perhaps it wouldn't work so well if not for Charles Winninger's lovely performance as the twinkling Irishman who brings the young folks together. Winninger has a moment late in the proceedings, talking to the heavens, that is both blissfully serene and fraught with emotion--honest emotion, the kind Hollywood sometimes has trouble creating. The film's message is clear--if you give unto others, you're sure to receive--and if that strikes some viewers as corny, so be it. However, the filmmakers do wonders with several ideas which have since become old-hat, and the three codgers are fabulous characters who transcend some of the more obvious plot-developments. In fact, the movie is such a surprise, I would imagine more TV-airings might turn it into a holiday perennial. *** from ****