Blogs are always posting lists of their top 10 favorite Christmas movies for the holidays, but few take the opportunity to explore the best Hanukkah movies that are on the market for the holidays. As Hanukkah nears the end this year, we’ve decided to take on that responsibility. Here are the best Hanukkah movies available today:
Top 10 Hanukkah Movies
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Honorable Mention: 8 Crazy Nights.
The joke’s on us. There aren’t any.
The absence of great Hanukkah-themed entertainment is pretty unforgivable when you think about it. The minute they make the first great Kwanza movie, it will become the second most represented winter holiday. Clearly, there are no Jews in Hollywood.
Thankfully, if you’re willing to dig a little deeper, you can find some very fulfilling Hanukkainment (that’s not going to catch on, is it?):
Like they did for Christmas, and would later do for Kwanza, the religiously mixed Pickle family explores the meaning of Chanukah when the kids are forced to watch a Senior production called, well, “The Meaning of Chanukah.”
Meanwhile, Orange County’s favorite half-Jewish half-Protestant family gather yearly to celebrate the combination of all winter holidays, the less than fabled Chrismukkah. Instead of Santa or Hershel, the official mascot of this holiday is Seth Cohen.
The Classics:
However, this hybridization may feel a little less than kosher. In that case, one can opt to celebrate Jewish movies in a more general sense, if not necessarily holiday themed. Films like Fiddler on the Roof, Annie Hall, or The Ten Commandments, will make for fine Hanukkah viewing.
The Uncomfortable:
I generally advise against the more uncomfortable Jewish works like Gentleman’s Agreement, Marathon Man, or Schindler’s List. This is supposed to be a happy time. But if you’re the kind of Jew that enjoys making the whole evening a little more awkward than it should be, these will get the job done.
PS: The perfect film for this holiday, believe it or not, is An American Tail.
It’s a story of poor, immigrant Russian mice, fleeing Cossack oppression in the land of freedom and cheese streets, and has always struck me as, not necessarily Jewish but let’s face it, probably Jewish. You can argue this point until you remember they’re named the Mousekewitz family. Don Bluth’s animation brings out the exact right amount of nostalgia and child-like wonder. Of course, this film is not online, even in pay form. Hanukkah fail.
