Love Actually is a 2003 British comedy film. The story delves into different aspects of love, shown through several stories involving a wide variety of individuals, many of which are linked as their tales progress. The story takes place during the four weeks leading up to Christmas and is set mostly in London.
The story begins with a scene in Heathrow Airport where people are meeting various friends and family members as they come through the arrival gate. As we see scenes of people reuniting, a voice over of Hugh Grant can be heard explaining that whenever he feels gloomy, he always think of the arrival gate at Heathrow Airport. At the arrival gate, he never sees anyone angry, sad or hurt. He sees that everyone, young and old, husband and wife, friend or family are happy. And that 'love' is the only emotion around everyone.
The story concentrates on several characters and several sub plots that become linked with one another as the story progresses. My favourite storyline in 'Love Actually' is the relationship between Jamie and Aurelia. Jamie recently discovered his girlfriend was cheating on him with his brother. To mend his broken heart he goes to his holiday home in Portugal to spend some time alone. There, and gradually over time he develops a relationship with his housekeeper, Aurelia. What's sweet about this story though is that he doesn't speak any Portuguese and she doesn't speak any English. They try to communicate with each other and often misunderstand what each other is saying. This is usually quite cute and humorous as they are both trying to say very sweet things to each other. When Jamie goes back to England he joins a language school to learn Portuguese and finally, goes back to Portugal to ask Aurelia in Portuguese to marry him!
There are several reasons why I love this film. One is that it is very funny and a feel good movie. The other is that I always go home to England at Christmas so I like to watch this film at that time as it makes me feel excited to see my friends and family.
A cute and useful quote from this film could be this between Karl and Sarah:
カールとサラのセリフも可愛くて便利だよ。
Karl:Well, I-I'd better go. (ええと‥もうそろそろ行かないと。)
Sarah:Okay. (そうね。)
Karl:Goodnight. (おやすみ。)
Sarah:Goodnight. (おやすみなさい。)
[he gives her a quick peck on the cheek, then they begin to kiss passionately]
カールはサラのほっぺに軽くキスをして、次第に情熱的にキスをしはじめ‥
Karl:Actually, I don't *have* to go. (本当は、行かなきゃいけないってわけじゃないんだ)
Sarah: Right. Good. (そう。良かったわ。)
When Karl says he doesn't *have* to go, he says *have* in quite a stressed way. This emphasises to Sarah that he doesn't really want to go and he is perhaps, politely asking if he can stay with her. It also shows how useful stress and pitch is in the English language to convey meaning!
Sarah:No, I... I just thought I'd ask the blunt question.
(ううん、私はただ‥率直な質問をしようと思っただけよ。)
To be blunt or ask a blunt question means to be direct or state the obvious to someone. often if we want to ask someone an abrupt or direct question, we will often say 'can i be blunt?' before the actual question.
"To be blunt"または"ask a blunt question"は 「率直に、当然のことを言う」という意味なんだ。 もし誰かに突然の、率直な質問をしたいときは質問の前に "Can I be blunt?" というといいよね。
This is a very sweet quote from jamie and Aurelia. In this scene jamie is driving Aurelia home from work. he talks to her in English and she in Portuguese.
Aurelia: [in Portuguese]It is the saddest part of my day, leaving you.
(あなたと別れる時が一日の中で一番悲しいわ。)
What i like about this is how the sentence structure is the same, yet the meaning is completely opposite. It's quite a good example of how to use English romantically!