Le Trésor de Bella Vista

Best Points: The Actors: especially the leads- Niall Matter and LeFevre are excellent . Their difficult and sometimes impossible Jobs are to flesh- out and fill the holes in the underdeveloped script. .. a. Mystery of Family and hidden clues.

Weakest Points: Trying to develop a good and well written storyline in Hallmark's standard 1 1/2 hour format. Really doesn't work well here.

Many layers of the plot and well drawn inter-connection between characters - sadly never happen

Worth the. Watch? Yes, good actors and the location make it worth the short watch, but you leave wanting something more substantial.

Tess Delaney (Rachelle Lefevre) is a globetrotting high class art hunter who is too busy for a personal life. She inherits an apple orchid from her father who supposedly abandoned her at birth as told by her absent mother. The other inheritor is her newly discovered half-sister Isabel (Helena Marie). Damhnaic McAuley (Niall Matter) is the estate executor.

This is a Hallmark movie, but they're really pushing the romance that hard. The bigger story seems to be a family mystery turned treasure hunt. I am not overly interested in any of the plotlines although the mystery kept my interest. It's a mixed bag although Hallmark does not set the bar that high.

The major relationship here was between the two sisters. That was, IMO, very well done, as was the gradual involvement of the lead's life with that of her extended family in the orchard, and her discovery of their history.

Niall Matter is one of my favorite actors in the Hallmark universe, but he was irrelevant here. If anything, I thought he should have gotten together with the sister, not the lead character. I suppose it was an obligatory part of a Hallmark movie, but in this one it wasn't necessary.

To the whiners who say that they don't like the inclusion of LGBTQ, get over it - they're a part of society now, and in this movie they were introduced as just a normal set of friends of the lead. Nothing was pushed, and they weren't pushed into the closet. Lots of Hallmark movies have hetero couples, and a few have gay couples. No big deal.

To sum up, an interesting movie with a non-threatening mystery, and romance was a side-issue.

I have grown tired of the Hallmark formula applied to every movie so this was a very pleasant change. Still Hallmark, but the tired scripts did a pleasant change up, and it really was a pleasant change. A very enjoyable movie, mystery and romance.

There were both a host of new characters, all likable, and a couple of old standbys, also very likable. Great scenery, so they must have sprung for a slightly higher budget, a good choice. Everybody loves a little mystery, some honest appearing suspense, and a happy ending.

Keep the changes coming and trash the worn out storylines that are totally predictable and boring.

7.7 stars.

I like a good mystery, this one was orchestrated well enough to keep us guessing just a little and doing a bit of nail biting, and then it all unravels at the end to a predictable climax. Yes it's woke, yes it's got some far fetched ideas about uber rare coins and holocaust survivors, and people dying in mysterious ways, and the secrets kept by several seemingly saintly people for no good reason. This extremely savvy woman and her equally savvy mother are the butt of the whole generational joke, but who is keeping score? I liked the film for the entertaining twists and turns. She speaks 3 languages? Right. He is a pilot, was in the navy, and has been to multiple countries, and is now a banker? Right. Her grandfather was a self-made orchard owner in Napa valley right in the heart of the best agricultural land on the whole planet and they can't sell the place? You mean they spent 20 million on cancer treatment? Ok, something doesn't add up.

The movie is entertaining, wokeness and illogic notwithstanding. What can I say, I've been suspense deprived for too long watching all these syrupy romances, it's nice to have a maudlin mystery for once.