"The Holiday"

If I can take only one movie to an isolated island (where there's somehow a private movie theater), The Holiday would be my movie of choice.

There is something so fantastic about this film for me, namely, because I watched it for the very first time under a very specific circumstance. In January of 2009, I had just moved to L.A. (well, South Pasadena to be exact) from Tokyo to start my master's course in fine arts. And although I thought I was quite familiar with this country having lived here as a child, coming back as an adult made me feel like a stranger to the land I thought I knew. I had no acquaintances in my apartment nor neighborhood, and didn't even know that L.A. can get so cold and rainy during January and February. So staying inside my house and watching movies became a natural activity for me, and The Holiday became my favorite.

Aside from my love for the fabulous cast, Nancy Meyers and the memorable beautiful score by Hans Zimmer, my attachment and love for this film stems from the fascination and love of how life can become so magical through meeting others that make you realize who you are at heart. How each of those magical encounters lead to the next, and take you to a mind-blowing place that you never imagined experiencing. How meeting new people allow you to do new and exciting things, challenge yourself and open up new doors to the unknown that makes your heart race with excitement. In other words, The Holiday gave me that magical "gumption" to start fresh in a new country.

After all this time, literally watching The Holiday over a hundred times, I still, always recall the freshness of the cold January air, and how I felt in pursuit of my dream and being in L.A. on my own. And every time I look back, I can only smile and be thankful of where I am after almost 3 years, thinking of all the people I've met, places I've been and things I've done, and look forward to more of those exciting encounters along my path.

Speaking of the movie, my favorite set of all is the Rosehill Cottage that Amanda (Cameron Diaz) lives in during her home exchange with Iris. This wonderfully cozy idyllic cottage was designed and built specifically for the film. Amazing! There's a great blog with photos by Vintage Yankee about the Rosehill Cottage. The set couldn't have been more perfect. This is what I love about films and sets that are well done: it never gets old and the more you watch it, the more you adore.