Whether you think so or not, the action classic starring Bruce Willis and the late, great Alan Rickman proves that one can set a movie at the most magical time of year without packing it full of seasonal tropes. After all, Christmas isn’t fun for everyone. It can be a dark, gritty, dangerous time, especially if you’re a downtrodden bureaucrat, an alcoholic cop, or a kid who has just been gifted an apparently harmless and adorable mogwai.

In this Movie List, we here at The Film Magazine have scoured the annals of film history to put together this selection of 10 Excellent Non-Christmas Films Set at Christmas. Ten films we’re sure will add a different flavour to your holiday watch lists.

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1. In Bruges (2008)

10 Best In Bruges Moments

Martin McDonagh’s thrilling feature debut transports us to Bruges, the Belgian town that’s “like a fairy tale”, as Ralph Fiennes’ cockney villain constantly reminds us.

The plot, twisting like the canals of Bruges itself, features comedy, betrayal, love, blood, and guts, whilst Christmas lights just happen to gleam all around.

If you want to feel a little seasonal without being beaten over the head with Christmas spirit, this Irish dark comedy starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson may be exactly what you need.

2. Brazil (1985)

Terry Gilliam’s dystopian epic shows us what those shopping-mall Santas can be like off-duty. Much like the Christmas industry, every kind face has a nasty one beneath.

Very little is nice about Brazil, which tells the story of Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce) seeking love and freedom in a Kafkaesque nightmare. Cinematically beautiful and ultimately terrifying, Gilliam’s vision of the future mirrors much of today’s world. We see that, behind the shiny consumerism, there are systems upon systems upon systems of red tape, corrupt officials, and crushed dreams.

Recommended for you: Katie Doyle’s ‘Movies I Had a Religious/Spiritual Experience with’ Part 3 (featuring Brazil & In Bruges)

In this Movie List, we’ve dedicated ourselves to celebrating five of these films for our own selection of the top 5 sexiest movies of all time. We have selected these films based on the overall sexual tone or underlying sexual tension of the movies as a whole, with particular attention paid towards the different ways through which films can be seen as “sexy”.

Our honourable mentions include the obviously sexy fare of Magic Mike and its sequel Magic Mike XXL, the more distressing and dangerous love of The Dreamers and Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut, as well as Cruel Intentions, Blue is the Warmest Colour, Mulholland Drive, 9 1/2 Weeks and the abundantly obvious Secretary.

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1. The Handmaiden (2016/17)

Park Chan-Wook’s marrying of Korean socio-political history with an English novel for what is essentially a Korean/Japanese period drama doesn’t seem like the kind of movie that would blow your socks off, but there are few films released this century that can come close to the red-hot chemistry on offer in the absurdly sexy The Handmaiden.

Told from three perspectives, each one being an individual act, the eroticism of the piece is given an opportunity to grow into the movie, with Park’s beautifully constructed long takes earning every bead of sweat that is bound to drop down your brow.

The Handmaiden explores romance and love, sexual awakening, sexual exploits and sexual perversion in an adult and sophisticated manner that simply oozes sex appeal while remaining entirely engaging on an intellectual level. If you’re looking for a truly adult way to build sexual tension over a glass of wine or two, this is the perfect film for you.

2. Basic Instinct (1992)

Is there any film from the annals of history that is more typically associated with dangerous sex than Paul Verhoeven’s Basic Instinct?

Perhaps the most famous and celebrated erotic thriller of the brief late-80s early-90s trend, Basic Instinct is every bit as much about sexual tension and true eroticism as it’s about that moment when at-the-time rising star Sharon Stone uncrosses her legs.

You know the one.

Recommended for you: Where to Start with Paul Verhoeven

Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita went from being a controversial novel to a controversial film with Kubrick’s 1962 adaptation. In the titular role, Kubrick cast the young Sue Lyon against James Mason. It was a difficult decision as not only did the actress need to be able to play a character at both 12 and 16 but there was also the tricky task of exploring an abusive relationship on screen. James B. Harris, Kubrick’s producing partner at the time, said, “We knew we must make her a sex object — she [couldn’t] be childlike. If we made her a sex object, where everyone in the audience could understand why everyone would want to jump on her, and you make him attractive; it’s gonna work.”

Both novel and film are told from Humbert’s (Mason’s) perspective, which required the sexualising of the character Lolita. Reportedly, the production received over 800 letters from parents claiming that their daughter “was” Lolita. The disturbing connotations of that aside, Kubrick cast the role towards the older end of the spectrum, preventing him from sexualising a prepubescent child at the very least. The film was heavily protested and censored, to the extent Sue Lyon was denied entry to the New York premiere. Kubrick’s own children were very young at the time. Perhaps a combination of the backlash of Lolita and his own journey into fatherhood contributed to his future choices with young actors, which seemed to be designed to protect them.

Kubrick’s daughter, Vivian, makes a brief appearance in 2001: A Space Odyssey as Squirt, Floyd’s daughter, on the video conference call. She would continue to stay involved with her father’s filming over the next several years, including an appearance in Barry Lyndon and directing the Making of The Shining. Her cameo here not only shows Floyd as a family man, but offers insight into Kubrick’s own fatherhood. The call so perfectly captures what it’s like speaking to a child; I would even venture to guess that Kubrick simply let his daughter say what she liked.

A Clockwork Orange doesn’t feature any children, but Kubrick’s 1975 effort, Barry Lyndon, relies quite heavily on two young actors. Books could be written about the beauty of Barry Lyndon’s cinematography, but for now, it’s worth noting the subtle performances he drew from the young men in the film. In particular, David Morley, the boy playing Bryan (Barry’s son), offers a wonderful turn as a spoiled brat who is constantly on the nerves of his half-brother Lord Bullingdon. A young man of 27 at the time, Leon Vitali was cast as the older Lord Bullingdon. When asked about Kubrick’s nature on set, particularly given that the director had a reputation to be a bit of a dictator, Vitali unequivocally disagreed. To paraphrase: he felt that Kubrick allowed the actors a great deal of freedom; had patience and understanding. Perhaps that sensibility led Vitali to continue working with Kubrick. You can see Leon running alongside Danny Lloyd in the making of The Shining, arguably Kubrick’s most notable case of working with a child actor. Young Danny carries most of the film, working alongside towering Hollywood giants like Jack Nicholson. However, Stanley Kubrick took one extraordinary painstaking measure during the filming of a somewhat gruesome and certainly terrifying horror movie: he didn’t tell Danny Lloyd that’s what they were making.

Many people read that and think that it’s not possible. But watch The Shining again, and this time, look carefully at the editing. Danny never shares cinematic space with anything truly frightening. The closest we get is a shot of the twins staring at him. He only ever shares created, imaginary space, all done through careful editing and expert storytelling. Kubrick placed the protection of a child’s innocence over the production of his film. Many of the rumours and reputations about him would lead one to believe he would do exactly the opposite. But, we must judge based on what occurred and not what is rumoured to have occurred.

Based on interviews with his family, friends, and co-workers, Kubrick was much the same about his own children. Every description I’ve found offers the picture of a loving family man who was very kind and very patient with children. Reportedly, he involved his children as much as they desired in his work; filming home movies with them, taking photographs. So often does one hear about the somewhat Machiavellian shrewd man, who manipulated his actors, tortured them even, but allow me to leave you with this from Nelson Mandela: “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.”

Written by Jacqui Griffin