Noël entre sœurs

A distinct lack of Christmastime snow and a very diverse and engaging cast highlight 'Every Time a Bell Rings', which tells the story of three adopted sisters who were close as kids but have drifted apart in the intervening years reconnecting over Christmas in Natchez, Mississippi the year after their dad died.

One of their childhood Christmas highlights was a Christmas scavenger hunt organised by their dad, and a final one is set up for the three sisters, which they must solve whilst dealing with relationship and familial issues. Erin Cahill, Ali Leibert and Brittany Ishibashi are well cast as the sisters, with Hallmark favourite Wes Brown also on board.

A heartfelt and touching story about family reconnecting for the holidays. What more could you want at this time of year?

What sets this movie apart is that is not about a couple, but about 3 sisters. Charlotte, Emily and Nora grew apart after their dad passed, each one in different parts of the world doing their own thing. This Christmas they get together for the first time in years, and they find that their dad left a scavenger hunt just like they used to. The grand price? A bell.

It was cute. There is love as well for those who want it. But there is also women discussing motherhood, finding a new path, discovering where they come from. These are women with real life stories and I liked that very much.

There is a LGTB+ character/couple and I couldn't be happier. There is good chemistry between the actresses. And honestly I couldn't care less about Liam and Charlotte. The main focus is on the family.

Different that usual.

The entire movie was a downer. Nothing but stress, tension, complaints and negativity. The very last two minutes of fake happiness can't make up for the rest. Why they even had Wes Brown as a "love interest" is a mystery because he was barely on screen and the relationship made no sense and seemed doomed, anyway. Hallmark is losing viewers left and right and yet another poorly written script isn't going to change that downward momentum.

While I appreciate the diversity, it was kind of boring. I did not like that the Asian daughter Betrayed her husband by "temporarily " denying him a family when she agreed to a family when they were married. She will never be "ready" and will continue to be a workaholic. Sad. Erin Cahill is not for me. So far she has never been appealing to me in her roles. Ali Liebert's charmingly expressive face wasn't. Enough said. I liked the idea of 3 sisters' stories instead of concentrating on one couple but two of the three had problematic messages (her sisters feel like Erin seeking out her biological parent was a betrayal.) and the other one was empty and boring. Dee Wallace has aged very gracefully.

They can only do so much in 80 minutes of screen time. Some of the topics were pretty heavy, but they dealt with them well considering the time constraints. They could have made this a miniseries, and I would have enjoyed it.

I think this is one of the better Hallmark movies out there this year.