We have plenty of lighthearted, fun holiday films this year. This is not one of them. The brilliant writer-director Rainer Werner Fassbinder, in the wake of a crushing personal tragedy, felt he had two choices: to commit suicide, or to make this film. The Christmas connection, in the great AFS tradition, is rather minimal, as the protagonist, Elvira, a newly transitioned transwoman, tries to make sense of her life and situation after her lover abandons her.