''A Christmas Visitor'' is a 2002 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

starring William Devane, Meredith Baxter and Dean McDermott. It was written by George Samerjan and David Saperstein, and directed by Christopher Leitch.

Plot summary

The film concerns the story of the Boyajian family, who have not celebrated

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

in 11 years, since their son John was killed shortly before Christmas in 1991 during the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

. With their daughter Jeanie potentially facing a life-threatening illness, George decides they should once again celebrate Christmas; however, Carol adamantly refuses. George heads to watch over the town's veterans memorial and is accosted by several teenage punks, who are scared off by "Matthew", a hitchhiker passing through town. As Matthew and George talk, Matthew claims to be a Gulf veteran who is the same age as John and served in the same regiment as John, although the two did not apparently know each other. George invites Matthew to spend Christmas with his family, asking him to tell his wife and daughter that he knew John while they served together. George's ultimate plan is to get the family to once again celebrate Christmas, which works. But as Matthew makes up stories about himself and John, George begins to wonder about Matthew's true identity when his stories include details that only John would have known (including a notable surgical scar from an athletic injury). At the end, it is revealed that Matthew is actually John making a supernatural visit (by revealing the scar mentioned earlier) in order to restore the family's Christmas spirit.

Cast

* William Devane as George Boyajian * Meredith Baxter as Carol Boyajian * Dean McDermott as "Matthew"/John Boyajian *

Reagan Pasternak Reagan Jae Pasternak (born March 8, 1977) is a Canadian actress known for her role as Julianne in the TV series ''Being Erica''. Biography Pasternak was born in Toronto, Ontario. She is the youngest of four. She has two older sisters and an olde ...

as Jeanie Boyajian * Aaron Ashmore as John Boyajian * Riley Chitty as Jeanie Boyjian (11 yr old) * Richard Blackburn as Larry Williamson * Judy Sinclair as Mary Simpson * Mung-Ling Tsui as Dr. Ortiz * Johnathan Whittaker as Tom * Frank McAnulty as Artie * Craig Eldridge as Lester * Joan Gregson as Miss Kearney * Lindy Booth as Liz source:

References

External links

*
''A Christmas Visitor''
at Hallmark Movies & Mysteries {{DEFAULTSORT:Christmas Visitor, A 2002 television films 2002 films 2000s Christmas drama films American Christmas drama films Christmas television films Hallmark Channel original films Sonar Entertainment films American drama television films 2000s English-language films Films directed by Christopher Leitch 2000s American films

Plot summary

Cast

See also

References

External links