Very well executed

Thanks for the memories!

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

Expected a soft, heart pulling story of two lonely people finding each other.....started off great.....a lonely farmer....and some might say simple.....a city girl who expects to travel the world but somehow gets herself pregnant.....a marriage both need......she makes it clear she doesn't want to stay.....but we get glimpses that she's as lonely as her 'husband'....both slowly start to try to be part of the others world....and isn't that what love is really about....caring about the other persons needs and interests?....they seem to start feeling closer...and we slowly see a tenderness grow between them....she still wants to leave and it looks like she will.....even though he knows she doesn't care and doesn't want to stay...he somehow feels they are actually man and wife(?).....is he suddenly really a simpleton? and then suddenly poof...she's in love and everything's OK in farm land USA.....guess I expected a bit more from each character in finding themselves and each other....

The Magic of Ordinary Days is a beautiful, well-told and well-acted story. Since the purpose of this review is to expound on how beautifully the sub-stories accentuate the subtler, inner story of Livy (portrayed by Keri Russell), it does contain spoilers.Florence (Tania Gunadi) and Rose (Gwendoline Yeo) as the Japanese-Americans in the internment camp personify Livy's fears as the outsider being judged on the basis of their physical appearance. Florence and Rose are sometimes not accepted just because they look Japanese in a WASP town of their fellow countrymen, even though good people like Ray (Skeet Ulrich) staunchly states that he's not stupid, he knows Florence and Rose didn't bomb Pearl Harbor killing his younger brother, but he just doesn't socialize with the farm help. Livy, being a preacher's kid, is afraid of judgment. Even though she has been sent away to an arranged marriage to avoid the condemning judgment for an unwed mother, will there still be judgment in her new environment when her pregnancy becomes apparent? The first question Livy asks Ray is why he is doing this (arranged marriage). He replies that when Rev. Case came to him, Ray took it as a sign of God. Because of this, he accepts Livy as she is, without judgment. When Livy asks Ray if he has any questions, he says no. In most scripts the man would ask, "Who is the father?" Ray does not. When she later questions him as how others will react when the baby comes early, he is sincerely steadfast in his position that it's not an issue because the community likes them. Without saying the words, Ray exemplifies I Corinthians 13: Love is patient; Love is kind. At Thanksgiving dinner at Ray's sister's (Mare Winningham) home, Livy thanks them for showing her more love in the past six months than in her prior twenty-five years.Florence hides her pain and anger about the injustice and ignominy of internment behind her smiles. Livy hides her pain, false hopes and the picture of her child's father inside her locket. Livy's turning point occurs when as she is burning the evidence of treason of the MP uniform that Florence has sewn for German POW boyfriend Walter (Eric Winter), Livy throws her locket into the fire. Wearing the locket is treasonous to her marriage. Florence' action diminishes the many actions and sacrifices of her family and fellow Japanese Americans that strive to prove their loyalty. Wearing the locket close to her heart diminishes the many actions of love of Ray and his family. Livy is not ready to accept the life of honest love with Ray until she throws the locket of false hopes away.These themes and sub-plots are as relevant today as they were in 1944. The magic is to see and live the extraordinary love and grace in the ordinary days. Thank you Hallmark.

This movie is no blockbuster; but it is a work of art. It is set in rural Colorado in 1944, when even here, World War II is never far away.Livy is a woman from Denver, who has disgraced her preacher father by becoming pregnant. To avoid scandal, her father arranges for her to marry a lonely farmer, Ray, who lives in a remote part of the state. The film has lots of silence, which effectively communicates the feelings of this urban woman coming to this to this lonely place; where the neighbors are 8 miles away, and it takes an hour to drive to the nearest telephone. Each scene is patiently constructed to communicate everything the words don't; through the faces and body language of the cast and other visual clues.Livy still wears a locket with a picture of her child's father, who is a flight instructor for the military, as she faces her new life; hoping he will come back for her someday. Ray, patiently and chastely tries to make her comfortable and happy; hoping that she will grow to love him. But he places no expectation on her.There is a seemingly irrelevant side plot involving two young Japanese-Americans conscripted to work the local farms; which unexpectedly ties in at the end of the movie. I will say no more in order to not spoil it.This is a touching and well-told story of repression, oppression and war all being overcome by love.

When I started watching this movie I wasn't really sure what to expect. But after watching it, one thing was certain: this movie turned out way beyond my expectations. The story is about Livy who gets pregnant out of wedlock. As a punishment, her father sends her off to marry a farmer named Ray Singleton. Ray turns out really sweet, but Livy has trouble adjusting to a quiet country life and is unable to forget the man she really loves.Ray Singleton is played by Skeet Ulrich, an actor I've never heard of before I saw this, but whom I really enjoyed. He played this part extremely well. I also have a weakness for Keri Russell, I think she is quite talented.Watch this movie when you need to watch a feel good movie because, trust me, you'll be smiling constantly. As I caught myself doing every 2 minutes. A wonderful movie full of love and hope.