Like the legendary movie of the Christmas season, Home Alone, Love Actually is also famous for being a Christmas movie. A story that brings warmth to your mind and a gentle smile to your face deserves to get the title of “the Christmas movie” as well as a movie that comes to mind when thinking of the word “happiness.”
The maestro of British romantic movies, Richard Curtis, took care of the screenplay, direction and production for Love Actually. Moreover, the movie consisted of a star-studded cast, including Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Emma Thompson, and Alan Rickman. A big interest was drawn even before it was out. It did not disappoint many movie fans and soon, it became a major film representing happiness, love and coexistence.
Different episodes by different characters are delicately connected. Even when the movie is seen overall, the episodes are well mingled together without any awkwardness or exaggeration. The ultimate message that the film delivers is, as a title suggests, “Love actually is all around.”
Every character faces their own problems in their particular circumstance such as having lost a loved one, being hurt by a loved one, being shunned and feeling lonely, suffering from a love crush, and suffering from family problems. It invokes sympathy from audiences as different kinds of individuals live with their own sickness and pain. Probably, this movie is more suitable to be regarded as a happy movie – a movie that portrays happiness, rather than just a happy ending.
Some end up beginning a relationship that they have been yearning for, some have delightfully resolved some tough matter, and some started to have new hope of love. However, some still cannot be with the loved one, scars from the loved one grows deeper, some are still alone and lonely, and some still have problems to be solved. Nevertheless, their stories give audiences warmth in their hearts and happy lingering because they could find love that could be discovered from unexpected places. Love still exists even in such pain, as always. Indeed, “Love actually is all around.”
When you finally realize that love exists everywhere, you overcome the wall called ‘the reality’ that traps you with problems that you have with yourself or others. I only love within the walls called myself and I only know about myself in the world of myself that I have made. But when I abandon myself and eventually see the world; when I see love that the world endlessly gives; when I finally feel that love that has always existed, I am born in the world for the first time and all the problems that I have had have already vanished. Only happiness exists.
No matter which poor conditions – difficulties and solitude – surround me, even though such things would never change, there is the true world of the origin that goes beyond all of those “conditions.” When I truly know that there is such a world that makes me exist and keeps me living in the world every moment, and when I know that this itself is the true love, nothing in the world would be difficult to me anymore. And so, every moment would be grateful and happy.
While recalling the truly happy and warm movie, Love Actually, I look back at myself once again. I reflect on myself at this moment to see if I feel grateful for the world, if I have forgotten about the world that endlessly gives me love at any given moment, and if I know and regard that every breath that I take, along with every moment I am given, are true miracles and happiness.
