Credit: DisneyWith a wealth of Christmas classics on Disney+, it can be incredibly easy to overlook some of the latest and greatest from the Walt Disney Company. However, The Shepherd (2023) shouldn’t go unwatched this holiday season.
Based on the 1975 book of the same name by Fredrick Forsyth, the British short film tells the suspenseful tale of an RAF pilot in distress while flying home on Christmas Eve until a mysterious Canadian Airman comes to his aid. The novel and its story have been regularly celebrated for years (especially by former airmen), but this adaptation gives it new life for a modern audience.
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If you’re anything like this writer, you immediately mistook this for something akin to Joyeux Noel (2005), given the use of period setting and vintage military imagery. However, don’t let that misconception deter you from watching.
The Shepherd Follows Us Home for the Holidays
While the film is only 40 minutes long, the experience is still a visually striking tale that offers a different flavor of magical realism for those Yuletide binge-watchers looking for something different from A Christmas Carol this year. What the short lacks in length, it more than makes up for in visual and environmental storytelling.
Ben Radcliffe plays Freddie, an RAF pilot on his way home for the holidays, but a dense fog soon has his craft off course, his instruments failing, and his fuel critically low. Enter John Travolta as the mysterious Johnny Kavanagh, who guides him through the night on a journey home.
Without going into spoiler territory, this is a hauntingly vivid fantasy that brings to mind the previously mentioned films and a very mature entry into Disney’s catalog of Christmas classics. It might not be what some expect, but it’s a refreshing piece of historical fiction for this festive season.
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Director Iain Softley and producer Alfonso Curón have something special on their hands, and film buffs who need something ghostly yet inspiring won’t be disappointed with The Shepherd. With any luck, Disney might have found a modern masterpiece for a very merry Christmas.
Have you seen The Shepherd? Tell Inside the Magic what you think in the comments below!