Miracle on 34th Street

Normally one thinks at Christmas of a time of colors, light and faith. In Miracle on 34th Street, however, Jim Jennings presents the holiday as a period of gloom, shadows and commercialization. The film was recorded in front of Toys ‘R’ Us in Herald Square in the weeks before the turn of the Millennium. It shows shoppers leaving the store laden with packages. The mood of the film suggests that the consumers are about to be “consumed” – by the spirits of materialism that flit through the streets. The bags the buyers carry cannot contain the only gift that is worthwhile: Love.