Long Lost Christmas - Wiedersehen zu Weihnachten

This is another story about searching for lost family. Hayley's mom was separated from her brother by the child welfare system when he aged out. The story includes a potential budding romance with a business partner of the possible family member. It seems like the two threads are about equal.

Most of the story wanders from one holiday activity to another while Hayley tries to stay close to her target, at least through half the movie. Hayley is pushy prying into the life of her possible Uncle Gordon. He is coy about his past which prolongs the search.

While Hayley searches, her mom deals with bittersweet memories while trying to get back out into the world after the recent loss of her husband.

Benjamin Ayres and Taylor Cole have quiet chemistry. The acting is good. Dialogue is decent but not sparkling. There isn't a lot of comedy with this movie focusing more on sentimental drama which is the norm on the HMM Miracles of Christmas.

There is a twist leading into the conflict, but it is one that I pretty much expected despite a red herring along the way. I was taken aback by Hayley's reaction. But that does not take away from a nice ending

Kudos to writers who actually know something about Astronomy acknowledging that shooting star watching is best leading up to 5 AM and on a moonless night. That doesn't stop the director from ruining it all with hundreds of Christmas lights which would wash out the darkness in the same scene.

This is a Christmas movie about searching for family and also finding love. The story is fairly simple with a number of simple setbacks leading to the expected conclusions.

As with all Hallmark movies the settings are stunningly beautiful. The town, shops, homes and decorations are absolutely perfect. The Christmas trees are presented in a flawless way along with over the top house decorations. The actresses and actors are themselves beautiful and handsome. They are also dressed to perfection and coordinated to the settings in which they appear.

However, this perfection leads to a feeling of living in a fairy tale rather than reality. This is especially felt when every tree and the massive amounts of decorations are store bought costing a small fortune. The characters however bake a few perfect cookies to try and compensate for this disparity and show that they are like real people.

This is a feel good movie but the complete perfection make it very unreal.

This is a fairly common Hallmark trope ... looking for estranged family. It's done well ... and with some beautiful buildings inside and out, since we have a builder and an interior decorator.

The actors all do a good job, I believe "as directed", but this is one of a long list of Hallmark Christmas films this year I find to be rather drab. The characters are all very reserved, even in their happiest moments. In the movies I REALLY enjoy, the actors bring some real life and personality to the roles, and I simply didn't get that from this movie.

It's absolutely worth a watch, but it's not one I'll look for again.

I usually enjoy Taylor Cole movies. She is absolutely beautiful and very charismatic. But not all of her Hallmark Christmas movies have been top tier movies. I liked Unlocking Christmas but I didn't really like Making Spirits Bright. But she's always worth watching.

Long Lost Christmas is one of her best Hallmark movies. And it's directed by Michael Robison who also directed two recent Hallmark movies that I really enjoyed (Autumn in the City and Unexpected Christmas).

She plays Haley, a loving daughter determined to try and help her mother reconnect with her mother's long lost brother. Haley didn't even know she had an uncle and is understandably more than a little curious. Jacqueline Ann Stewart plays Haley's mother Patricia. One can only imagine how traumatizing it must be to grow up as an orphan and then lose touch with one's only sibling. I thought both actresses were very effective in conveying the powerful and conflicting emotions that they felt. Haley wants to know more but she also wants to shield her mother from further pain. It was an interesting and often emotional journey and although I didn't think the "reasons" given at the end were justified, I like stories that reconnect people torn apart by forces beyond their control. And we all know well meaning people who've made bad decisions. Heck, we've all made bad decisions.

Gordon was something of a cipher, but he seemed like a good father and I liked the relationship between Haley and his daughter Brianna, who designed and made wood furniture. The big design showcase opportunity subplot felt a bit off though. It was a last minute opportunity, with a short amount of prep time, during the holidays, and Haley decides that's a good time for a road trip? I also wasn't clear on how Brianna's furniture played such a big role in the showcase. But those are minor issues. The gist of the movie was the heart wrenching story of orphaned siblings who lost each other when they were young and how they find each other again later in life, through the love and dedication of a devoted daughter.

Haley's love interest, Blake, was played by Ben Ayres, who starred in Falling For Vermont, one of my all time favorite Hallmark amnesia movies. He was pleasant and obviously infatuated with Haley (like any heterosexual man with a pulse). They had a nice growing chemistry and seemed like a good match, to at least date.

This is top tier Hallmark. I cried several times. It made me want to hug my sister.

The cast in this movie is extra special. And the storyline is exceptionally good. That said, the character Hayley is a bit over the top with her emotions. I'm used to the heroines working through their problems to a satisfying conclusion. The character Haley seems to emotionally break down at the beginning of the movie and isn't a strong woman as I've come to expect from Hallmark. It's a great movie and takes place in the Winter in a beautiful part of the country and well worth watching - I was just disappointed in the Haley character's portrayal as weak and unable to meet challenges with strength.