Trois Noëls à la maison

This is another great movie and Hallmark is really hitting home with some of their recent releases.

The only thing is you really have to be paying attention or re-watch the movie.

There are three families across three different time periods (the 70's the late 90's and current time 2023). The time periods and families are not shown sequentially (since their connection is more than sequential).

The connections to the other families and time periods is more than just the home, it's in the people themselves and their connection to each other, but that's not the focus of the story. Even though these people's lives have some connection or overlap, they each independently have life changing events occurring and the struggles that go with dealing with these events. As they overcome or accept these life changes they find strength in the people around them and the viewer sees connections that are hinted at but slowly revealed as the story progresses.

I wish the changes between the time/families had been a little more clear, but do like the way it was showing the families and the overlapping storyline.

I didn't pay enough attention to the trailer that preceded this film's release during the week. This is one Hallmark film where the ending doesn't matter as much as what happens in each of the three stories. This film has sweet and relatable stories, and as is the way with Hallmark, love still takes center stage. Note: If you're a bit drowsy or are overly distracted, perhaps wait till you're not to watch, otherwise you'll likely miss the smattering of clues to help you understand what's going on with each of the three stories. With a large stellar cast, this film is not your typical Hallmark movie. Love that Hallmark is working hard to ensure ensure representation in story lines as well in casting.

This is really interesting that I'm saying this about a Hallmark movie. That's because it's incredibly different from any other Hallmark movie. Yes, they have the love. Yes they have all the other blah blah blah, yada yada yada. But I love the way that they took three different storylines from three different years in the same house and tied them all together. You just don't see that sort of thing these days. And, just when you think you've got it all figured out, they throw you a curveball. I like a nice curveball. I like it when a movie keeps me on my toes and I don't honestly see what's coming till almost the end. That's why I'm giving this one 10 out of 10. Well done whoever wrote this one.

There's so much in here about families and how Christmas brings out the best and worst in them, that it almost feels like the writer is presenting a theory and philosophy of family Christmas.

It's one of the most interesting and innovative of the "family Christmas" sub-genre of Christmas movies that I've seen.

That said, there is an awful lot going on here and I got a little lost as I wasn't paying full attention. Not least because the description I read didn't make it clear that events are happening at different times in the same location. So I was struggling, at times, to work out precisely how the various characters spanned the 3 time periods.

For the first twenty minutes of this movie, before the commercial break I was lost. Or maybe disinterested is a better term. Then it closes before the break and says that the three stories we were watching are all actually happening on different timelines. Great, sounds fun. No. It's a slog. The stories are interconnected through the house the ALL live (or lived) in, but it doesn't really come together until the final five minutes of the movie, which left me a lot of time to wonder why I should keep watching. For a movie with Jonathan Bennett, I thought we'd see some funny moments, but no, it was all serious future-dad, fancy dinner chef drama. John Brotherton and Erin Cahill could have just had the whole movie to themselves and we'd have all been better off for it. And another thing, you don't keep having to mention "high oil prices" to tell us the year the events are taking place. We get it . . . Oil crisis. We just don't care.