Holidays bring people happiness. Holidays also make people sad, especially when they are trapped in emotional crisis without any one to lean on. So how do people put on an air of joy rather than being gloomy during holiday? The movie “The Holiday” illustrates a way.

Amanda was a tough girl, who worked very hard to earn big bucks and led a rich life in LA. However, her boyfriend cheated on her, which drove her nuts. Under her superficial toughness lied weakness and uncertainty toward herself. To temporarily leave the hectic work and heal her broken heart, she decided to take a vacation alone in a far away place. Through internet, she conneted with Iris, whose little cottage was available for rent in Surrey, England. Iris, like Amanda, had a huge crush on her boyfriend, who cheated on her and made her blame on herself of failing to expose her true feelings explicitly.  By talking to each other, Amada and Iris made a bold decision of home exchanging for two weeks.  

After having a good night rest in the nice and cozy cottage without any disturbance, Amanda got bored and prepared to head back to LA. Unexpectedly, she met Iris’s half-brother Graham, a widower with two adorable little girls, who tried to recover from drunkenness in Iris’s cottage. A seed of love was unconsciously planted deep in their lonely hearts. Although they realized the impossibilities of developing a long distance relationship, the love between them was inevitably growing and blosoming. On the way to the airport, Amada, who had hardly shed a single drop of tears since age of 15, cried with tears rolling down uncontrollably. She headed back to the cottage, to the embrace of Graham.

Meanwhile in LA, Iris made friend with a famous yet old and depressing script write Arthur. Being afraid of exposing himself as a crippled, powerless man, Arthur refused to accept the honor for his work. Iris managed to make him back in good shape and most importantly gain his self-assurance back to stand confidently on the stage of the celebrating ceremony. During this help process, the friendship between Iris and Miles, Amanda’s assistant, changed little by little toward the more intimate direction. The film ended up with a reunion of Amanda, Graham, Iris, Miles and Graham’s two little girls in Graham’s house at New Year’s Eve. Sometimes People need a little personal space to compose their thoughts and life, to figure out what they real want, to meet new people, to think out of the box, to decide which direction they’d love to take for the future life.

The movie was simple and hilarious. Besides the romantic story, the handsome actors and pretty actresses, the two little girls are truly angels. You would see how adorable they are in the following video.