A Christmas in Switzerland

I don't understand what other reviews are talking about. This movie is so cute! Filled with gorgeous Swiss Christmas traditions and love stories from romance to family to friendship. I have watched this on repeat in the lead up!!!! Love it so much!!!!!

The Swiss traditions are ones i never knew about. It's wonderful they are sharing them - I'm going to take some on board for my family.

Christmas movies are meant to be a little cheesy! However the actors make up for the classic cheesy script, they are wonderful, especially the main two.

This movie has definitely got me into the Christmas spirit this year and will be on my list of yearly re-watches!

I hate these kind of movies. They never work right because no one ever truly acknowledges the pain of the person who's been hurt. They dismiss it as "it was a long time ago, get over it."

Just once can someone truly empathize with their hurt and try to help the repair rather than try to force it out if shame a guilt?

Yes, this touched a nerve. And I that doesn't make me wrong.

The only good thing was Alex's grace in the face of all the manipulation. The family's desire for their own comfort and dreams of recapturing yesterday...holy cow people read the room. And she gets no real credit for trying because everyone else wants to pretend nothing happened, again for their own want, and for her to just do as they wish. Yes she needs to forgive. Yes reconciliation is good. But they're all sucking at how to help facilitate that. Remembering how things used to be doesn't change how things are. It's like saying we can return to the past while expecting to move forward. Things are different. You have to build something new. This is about feeling betrayed by your best lifelong friend. Without acknowledging that, all efforts to repair the relationship are only going to make things worse. It'd be like using a hammer when you need a screwdriver. Wrong tool for the problem. I would've had more respect for the story if the scene between Alex and her love interest would have him not trying to talk her out of her feelings but just acknowledging her hurt and her feeling safe enough to process her own feelings. Opening the door for them to grow closer as she confides in him and allowing him to properly help her move forward and start a new friendship with an old friend and a new love with him.

And just what DID she say? "If you don't have anything good to say,...come sit by me". That pretty much describes my sentiments about this cinematic reduction.

A self-respecting Swiss village would never be found with dreadful and gauche displays--of everything. The general store? On the street where you shop? The village Christmas tree? In the inn? Pointy, plastic, scantily dressed garland? Another commercial for the 12-days of Christmas starting in early October? And filming, in part, on a Warner Brothers backlot and green screens? A chef that couldn't microwave a seal-a-meal? And then...not knowing wines appropriate to a frozen dinner? Tell me not.

And just how could an attempt be made for some degree of authenticity--a nod to the real stuff? If on-site visits are not possible due to budget or pandemic constraints, watch some famous tour group leaders' DVDs on the REAL Christmases in Switzerland (and many other places in Europe as well). Find the richness of the many European traditions noting the lack of materialism as the primary reason for the season. (I'm not against capitalism--just how it is used, displayed and perceived.)

Seeing that this movie was a 2022 production it was a surety that I hadn't seen it before. Although sounding like a Scrooge, I actually love Christmas movies. A couple of weeks before Thanksgiving my quest begins for a variety of holiday flat-screen events. And it provides me some degree of pain to have to admit that I was taken in by the year of release and movie title. I have a hope that the new Christmas movies will blow our socks off given the pent-up well of creativity so badly stifled by Covid--and I'm going to keep hoping.

As for the final analysis? Come sit by me...I still have nothing good to say.

When people abroad try to make a film about your homecountry it can be really good or really bad. Here there is so much bad. There's really nothing much swiss about this film apart from the swiss flags everywhere (which we don't really have except for 1st of August). It seems like it's someones idea of what the country might be like from looking at a tourist brochure from 30 years ago and mixed it up with a clearly American house and American scenery with a view swiss mountain pictures added in as transitions.

The film itself continues to disappoint. The acting isn't great, the plot is very simple, not really believable and just flat. Having those two former friends meet with those semi love quarrels and OF COURSE the handsome hotel guy is a widower for whom the main character falls for.. i mean its just so blatantly bad.

I'm glad i didn't pay for this. What a waste of time though.

The setting and culture is beautiful, but unfortunately the fun gets lost as many of the secondary characters are insensitive, controlling and pushy yet judge the lead when she can't cope with their constant bad behaviour. Whilst I know that's sadly a realistic storyline, I struggled to watch this movie once and certainly couldn't last a second viewing, which is a shame as I liked the Swiss details and artwork. To be fair though, they maybe could do a sequel where the drama comes from uncontrollable events rather than controlling characters eg delays in delivery, accidents etc and the community (that several of the people moved there for) coming together to support each other.