A Gift to Remember

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Kevin Fair directs. Toby Gorman behind the camera. Christopher Nickel scores. Dan Krieger cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Canada, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 183 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
• 2Released 9 years ago.
• 3International production across 2 countries: Canada, United States of America.
• 4Part of the "A Gift to Remember Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
• 5Directed by Kevin Fair, shot by Toby Gorman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 6Original score by Christopher Nickel. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 7Editor Dan Krieger shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 8Ali Liebert and Peter Porte and Tina Lifford carry the top of the cast.
• 9IMDB entry: tt7006938 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 10Only 71 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography

Toby Gorman

Original score

Christopher Nickel

Editing

Dan Krieger

Production design

Rosaura Lezama

Runtime

83 min · 1h 23m

Status

Released

Original language

EN

IMDB

A Gift to Remember (2017) ↗

Part of

A Gift to Remember Collection

After colliding with a pedestrian on her bicycle who loses his memory following the accident, Darcy Archer finds out that too-good-to-be-true Aidan might just be the man she’s been waiting to bump into all her life.

• 
  A Gift to Remember

  2017 · this one
• 
  Cherished Memories: A Gift to Remember 2

  2019

Also by

Kevin Fair

• 
  A Knight to Remember

  2026 · ★ 9.0
• 
  Smallville

  2001 · ★ 8.2
• 
  Morning Show Mysteries: Death by Design

  2019 · ★ 7.4
• 
  Beauty and the Beast

  2012 · ★ 7.4
• 
  He's Not Worth Dying For

  2022 · ★ 7.3
• 
  Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Higher Ground

  2017 · ★ 7.3

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Preview - A Gift to Remember - Starring Ali Liebert, Peter Porte, Tina Lifford

  Trailer · Official

Community reviews

What people are saying

• Reno2018-02-04
  ★ 7/10

  Love at first crash. Like every year in December, my quest begins to watch some of the Christmas films. Mostly the television films, and that too obviously the Hallmark films. As I have mentioned previous years, it's impossible to avoid such seasonal film, if you are a cinephile. I almost saw a dozen of films, they all were decent, but none of them quite impressed me, until this one. This is not like the best film of the season, but among those I've seen, it is that I really enjoyed. Based on the novel of the same name. I don't know if the book was a Christmas themed, but this one was tuned to the festival occasion. From the television director who had done a film series recently. The actors I don't know, but I liked their good performances. One big drawback in all the Hallmark Christmas films is they are predictable. The films usually aimed for middle-aged to older women in the family. That's not me and I'm aware of that, so I compromise while rating and reviewing, that I always end up saying 50/50. This one rarely stood just above that mark, so here I'm with my feature review. Darcy is a young woman who works in a prominent bookstore in the town. Very active and always just in time for everything. But on one occasion, she has been late for work, so while hurrying on the road with her bike, collides with a stranger. Now he's in the hospital with amnesia. Feeling guilty, Darcy decides to help him out to gain his memory. So her adventure to find his real identity, and while following events pushes them so close. But if he regains his memory, it might put her in a disappointing state. Because that's what truth always does. -xX] Caring for others reveals the best versions of ourselves. [Xx- This could be my last Christmas film of this year. And I'm quite happy I enjoyed it and the season ended on a high. The concept of amnesia worked so well for this film. Because of that, the suspense grew and held back until the finale. Obviously that end part was predictable, due to this is a family film and all the family films ends positive note. If you know that and set your mind accordingly, then you would also have a good time with it. Well, the dog had a nice role. I anticipated more part for him, but a limited one. Usually all the Christmas films made for the television are cliched romance tale, especially the initiation. This was unique, well, better than the most. That best start carried out decently in the middle section. Nothing much fuss. With a bunch of wonderful characters and lines and shot in the nicest locations, the film had the upper hand throughout. I hope it is as good as the original source. One of the reasons I liked it was not being entirely about Christmas. It sets in only on that backdrop. While the majority of the tale focused on romance. The memory loss brings the some fairy-tale perspective. Overall, it ended nicely. So this is the one I pick for this year and suggest a must see. That's only if you are seeking a Christmas film and also must be watched before the season ends for a better result. Finally, I must say this that I enjoyed it does not mean you too would do the same. Hundreds of Christmas films come out every year, so choose wisely. You might find a better than this that I haven't seen! 7/10

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  Reel One Entertainment

  CA

• DA

  Darcy's Gift Productions

• VE

  Vesuvius Productions

  US

Key crew

• EditorDan Krieger
• Production DesignRosaura Lezama
• NovelMelissa Hill
• Executive ProducerTom Berry
• Executive ProducerAngela Mancuso
• Executive ProducerLindsay Moffat
• Executive ProducerBreanne Laplante
• Executive ProducerSebastian Battro
• ProducerGilles LaPlante

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• based on novel or book
• christmas

Release history · US

When it landed

• TV2017-11-19· Hallmark Channel

Also known as

International titles

• A Gift for ChristmasGB
• Un regalo para recordarES
• Un regalo para recordarMX
• Подарок на памятьRU