It is the Christmas holiday season, with only three days left until the official day!
What are your favorite things to do during the holidays?
You may have already been listening to Christmas music ever since November 1st after Halloween, or perhaps you have been enjoying the delicious (and aesthetically pleasing) sweets and drinks that are holiday themed.
However, with getting used to the winter term that started in December here at ICU, you might not have had the time to sit down, relax, and watch Christmas movies.
If you haven’t been watching any movies already, here are three film recommendations to watch with your friends, family, or dorm-mates.
Which one would you want to watch first?
- First Love 初恋
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First Love 初恋 is a Japanese television series directed by Yuri Kanchiku starring Hikari Mitsushima as Yae Noguchi and Takeru Satoh as Harumichi Namiki, released by Netflix in November 2022. The series (and its Japanese title) was inspired by two Hikaru Utada songs “First Love” and “初恋 (Hatsukoi)”. The plot revolves around a man and a woman who met in 1990 as children and grew up together in the 2000s, in Hokkaido. Yae Moguchi wanted to be a flight attendant but suffered an accident. Harumichi served as a pilot in the army but his life took a different path. Now they meet again in Tokyo as adults and try to rekindle their first love through memories.
I recently finished watching this on Netflix, and I would have to say it is now one of my favorite tv series. There are many flashback scenes in each episode, and as the audience, it is quite intriguing as we get to look at each past and present time and figure out how Yae and Harumichi’s relationships and individual lives turn out over time. It is almost like a mystery show in that sense, where there are plot twists and discoveries.If you want an emotional, romantic love story based on the ideas of fate, set in a snowy place perfect during this winter season, then this is definitely for you!
- The holiday
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The Holiday (2006) is a romantic comedy film written, produced, and directed by Nancy Meyers, also known for her classic films like The Parent Trap (1998) and The Intern (2015). This film follows two love-troubled women Iris and Amanda, played by Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz respectively, who arrange a home exchange to escape and re-set their love lives during the Christmas and holiday season. As Iris Simpkins moves from London, England (from now on referred to as London) to Los Angeles, California, (from now on referred to as LA) and as Amanda Woods moves from LA to London, they find themselves finding new love. Starring actors Jude Law and Jack Black as the film’s leading male love interests, The Holiday is a perfect rom-com that captures the themes of self-discovery, self-love, romantic relationships, and friendship.
I personally have never watched this film before, so I am excited to watch it this year! As it stars Jack Black, I’m sure there will be plenty of funny scenes to lighten up the mood during this cold holiday season, when we tend to overthink our relationships and life decisions.
- love Actually
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Love Actually (2003) is a Christmas-themed romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. The story follows the lives of several different couples who are dealing with their love lives, all set in London a month before Christmas. An interesting aspect of this film is that it features an ensemble cast, meaning it is composed of multiple actors assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time. So, you would get to watch different romantic relationship scenarios in one movie! The story takes place over the course of the weeks leading up to Christmas and is followed by an epilogue one month later.
I am intrigued to see what each character and each couple goes through in the film, and what the ending would be! Would each couple get a happy ending?
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I hope this list inspired you to watch these films during the Christmas holiday. Although it is a personal tradition of mine to watch classic Christmas movies like Home Alone during this time of year, it is always great to try watching different films.
Hope you all have Merry Christmas!