The Maltese Holiday

I would like to leave a review on this film for the sole purpose of me myself being Maltese and that i noticed some very off things while watching it. It had an ok story line but that is probably the only alright thing about it. Firstly, in Malta the winter is pretty cold with temperatures going down to 5 Celsius regularly and strong winds are also very common during December so I don't know what they drank in order to be able to go on a boat ride?!?!?!?! In the middle on winter???? Wow. Anyway, I could also note straight away that the shot from the plane landing was 100% not Malta. You can simply go on google earth or maps and very obviously see that there isn't a spot of trees that is bigger than a football ground. The only close thing to a forest that we have is Buskett that is on the other side of Malta from the runway. The producer could have simply found some helicopter footage of the runway and rightfully claimed it for this movie. Now I could sense that there probably wasn't that much of a huge budget for this movie but when you make a film based on a country, please remember that people from there might see it and note obvious flaws. I apologize if this is sounding too harsh but its a shame for such a film (which probably took so much time to make) to loose its value over small things. Anyway, I would also like to address the reception person that the main character greeted and his...accent. Maltese people usually have an almost English sounding accent, not a weird Italian or Arabic accent. If you find someone who speaks Arabic or Italian as their first language sure, but, they both implemented (or tried to because I had to watch the scene for about 5 times to be able to understand what they were saying) Maltese phrases which I could guess meant that they were Maltese. Also you could have easily asked a Maltese person or the ones on the production team (I noticed some Maltese surnames in the credits) to show you how to pronounce "il-Millied it-tajjeb" in a fluent way and whatever the guy behind the reception tried to say. (Please don't use google translate!!) Also, if you are going to use other locations to shoot scenes instead of using the real ones, at least please see that they match the area!!!! The Ramla Bay Resort doesn't have trees around it and there aren't grape fields that big in Malta for sure. Have you seen how condensed it is with buildings?!!?!?

Also, you can't hike to the Blue Lagoon!!! Did the one above tell you that because he's the only guy that I heard that walks on water.

Anyway, something funny I found was what she said while they were having wine under a gazebo or something. She said that it was so peaceful and calming and at that point I knew that she hadn't even went once in the centre or anywhere besides Mellieha. Ok I'm going to stop giving criticism now i hope that who ever reads this notices how small things in a movie make a lot of difference!!

Thank you.

Gorgeous panoramic views of the Maltese Islands and that's the only redeeming and real feature of this movie... Everything else is a mystery to me.. There are no direct flights from NYC to Malta The hotel they are staying in is not Ramla Bay although some outside scenes were at that location.. None of the 'locals' were Maltese; listening to them pronouncing Maltese phrases was excruciating.. Swimming at Christmas would be a very cold experience! Why are people walking around like it's summer when the movie is based on a Christmas holiday? December is not beach weather in Malta.. The 'Crystal' Lagoon is in fact The Blue Lagoon which is in Comino and you cannot get there by car! .. And that vineyard??? Where was that?

So silly... They could have based this movie somewhere in America and done a better job of it!

Get your facts straight people! 😂

Don't get me started on the acting..

Even travelling from New York $15000 is at least 5 times too much for a hiliday in Malta. Landing looked like UK, airport looked american. A few scenes were filmed in Malta but the majority including hotel interior and vineyard were in NY with backgoround nothing like Malta or indeed Xmas time as too many leaves on the trees. Obvious to anyone who knows and loves Malta, very disappointed with the lack of local scenes. Having the actors travel to Malta and having a unit based there with a very productive film studio, why were the Maltese scenes not all filmed there. Some great aerial shots. Gives a very distorted picture of Malta and its people.

The fact that this movie was made is suspect. It stinks of being a tax write-off or an 80 minute paid ad to go visit the Maltese islands. Except that the movie essentially consists of interior shots of a NYC hotel, generic drone clips of the Maltese coast with sputterings of stock footage- at one point we see stock footage of a French airport (???). No idea what the point of basing the plot in Malta was, probably just sponsored as an ad, except that if I were a tourist I'd be put off visiting this place. It's cynical, lazy, cringe worthy and an insult to anyone who watches it. Also, the Maltese people are not Maltese. Talk about cultural appropriation. Il-Milied it-tajjeb.

I am Maltese but I doubt the main actors were really in Malta. The accent of the presumably Maltese actors is atrocious. It seems arabic but it is good to know that we Maltese people have a good English accent. The amazing panoramic views are definitely Maltese. Also, during the Christmas holidays it is quite cold but ironically the main actress had a dip in the pool and most of the actors wore short-sleeved clothes. I believe that more research about the Maltese culture should have been done before the movie was made. I enjoyed it solely because I am Maltese.