Le Médaillon de Noël

8.1 stars.

Has one of the highest IMDB ratings I've seen for a Hallmark Christmas movie. I went into this with high hopes, but low expectations.

Opens with a mother named Christine (Lenz) and two children, mom is really down on her luck. A chain of several unfortunate events befalls her, and in addition her ex-husband is a dead-beat with anger issues, who doesn't pay child support.

I must add that he circumstances do not evoke any sympathy from me. The fact that she is super gorgeous doesn't change my opinion. I feel that was the filmmakers intent, to make her seem pathetic. They succeeded.

As she is doing all she can to make ends meet, Christine ends up at the right place and right time to perform an heroic act and be a good samaritan. Everything changes for the better due to this pivotal moment.

Jason (Reardon) is introduced, he's back in town to help his grandparents. He runs into Christine, they don't hit if off very well, but he's a very likable and intelligent fellow.

The rest of the story is full of secrets, missed opportunities, coincidences, more secrets, strange circumstances, more coincidences, and on and on. The constant expectation was exciting, and there were so many wonderful reveals, and heartwarming scenes, which evoked such passion and joy.

Of the 30+ holiday films so far this year, this one is the champion for balance of romance, sentimentality, forgiveness, generosity, miracles, and Christmas charm.

'The Christmas Secret' is now on my very short list of yearly MUST see Hallmark films.

Been watching & re-watching this movie over the past 3 years, one of those feel good flicks. This main characters click, all supporting roles are solid, looking forward to multiple views again.

There are some Hallmark Christmas movies that I watch again and again. This is one of them. It's just sweet. It's not that corny sweet movie. It has some real substance to it. It has some real life issues. I think that's what I find so endearing about this movie.

This movie and the cast just works. They play off each other well. It's nice to see people doing good deeds for each other without expecting something in return. It's also nice to see sweet and respectful kids. I like that this movie has little mini storylines going on during it.

Hallmark premiered several new Christmas movies this year, and this one hits a lot of sentimental high points to be among the best.

A struggling single mother who waitresses moves to the town she believes her father (who died when she was a baby) had grown up in, to hopefully learn about him.

Acting by the entire cast is spot on for the approach this one takes. It's unashamedly a "feel-good" type movie, but with this story that's not a problem at all. The numerous secret connections between the characters suggest a higher power is at work bringing all these people together, a story line that is told in an uplifting manner that is never schmaltzy. The characters are likable (except for the villains who play their villainy very well too).

Just a good-natured film for some Christmas season cheer, which is what this movie set out to be.

This Hallmark movie is one of those which include some mystery and/or drama leading up to the heartwarming moments.

This story has several loose threads dangling about the life of Christine. For much of the movie, Christine is getting pounded by the things that threaten to unravel her life and family. She loses a job, gets an eviction notice and her ex threatens to take her children.

There is a mysterious locket that keeps popping up. It actually started out as Christine's locket but it gets lost and bounces around to some of these loose threads and the viewer knows that once we find the locket's secret, the threads will tie together and form a strong cord.

The acting is good enough. Bethany Joy Lenz endures as a single mom who struggles to hold it together. John Reardon is one of the threads and Jason soon begins to form a relationship with Rosemary. Oh wait, that's not right, because this is one of the running gags. Jason mistakenly thinks Christine's name is Rosemary.

While there are many things about this movie that we can predict, at least eventually, there is just enough of a Christmas secret to make it interesting.