People We Meet on Vacation

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🎬 Industrial Saccharin

Despite the original novel sweeping the 2021 Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Romance Novel and dominating the New York Times bestseller list for a long time, when I finished reading it, I only felt: it's standard artificial sweetener, the characters are ridiculous and the plot is predictable.

The film adaptation premiered on Netflix on January 9, 2026 , and quickly became a hit, garnering 17.2 million views in its opening weekend and unsurprisingly topping the global charts.

Admittedly, the film version is better than the novel—the pacing is tighter, the narrative more focused, and the first half does indeed feature quite a few lighthearted and effective jokes. As a rom-com for the streaming era, it clearly understands its function: easy to digest, sweet, and visually appealing.

🚩 The Wasted

I don't like this premise: Is it really necessary to spend 12 years figuring out if it's friendship or love? Does "pure friendship" really exist where you can sleep in the same bed anytime without crossing any boundaries?

This setup is more like an emotional "no zuo no die" scenario. This kind of emotional entanglement, disguised as deep affection, is essentially self-deception. It not only wastes their own time but is also extremely irresponsible towards the supporting characters who appear in their lives and are forced to become "cannon fodder."

🤴 The disconnect between

While the interweaving of past and present narratives is a highlight, stripping away the travel blogger's filter reveals it as a clichéd story catering to female readers' fantasies. The male protagonist, Alex, seems solely there to wait for the female lead at the finish line until she's tired and returns. This almost sacred, perpetually unchanging emotional stability makes the story completely detached from reality.

When the plot finally escalates from "delayed ambiguity" to the anxiety and withdrawal of modern people when facing intimate relationships: fear of loss, fear of confirmation, and the inability to accept that once that step is taken, everything can never go back to the way it was before, then the discussion about courage seems more sincere.

🌹 Holiday filters and "red roses and white roses "

When Poppy stopped running away and said the key line to Alex, "You're not a vacation to me, Alex. You're home," I wasn't moved by that sense of fulfillment. Instead, I realized more deeply that the side of life seen during a vacation is completely different from real life.

Eileen Chang spoke of red roses and white roses, but in this film, the romance of vacation is like a meticulously filtered "cinnabar mole." The film cleverly ends when the two confirm their relationship, leaving the most mundane details untouched, because it knows that once this love descends into the mundane world, the cinnabar mole will eventually become just a stain on the wall. The reason they were able to maintain their beauty for 12 years is precisely because they lived most of their time in the vacuum of "vacation."

✈️ The shift in the outcome: a safe and conservative return.

Interestingly, the film's handling of the female characters' fates carries a contradiction influenced by the contemporary women's movement. Sarah, who once seemed to prefer a traditional family life, ultimately chooses to become a flight attendant and fly to a wider world; while Poppy, who always championed freedom and adventure, ultimately chooses to settle down for what she calls true love. This makes the ending seem both safe and conservative.

Poppy's hesitation and avoidance are not merely emotional indecisiveness, but also subtly reflect her apprehension about whether to enter a pre-determined, correct life path. Ultimately, the film revisits all possible forks in the road, leaving only the most mainstream and acceptable choice. So, they do end up together, but this doesn't automatically justify the avoidance she'd experienced for the previous twelve years.

💔 In reality, there are no viewers

Perhaps we spend our entire lives feeling intimidated in the face of true love, and in the end we can only comfort ourselves by saying, "We were just people we met on vacation," while continuing to miss each other in reality.

This movie is perfect for killing time with popcorn on the weekend, but after watching it, you'll only be more convinced that if such a "pure friendship" that has lasted for 12 years exists in reality, it's mostly because one person is waiting while the other is pretending.

In real life, no perfect protagonist will wait forever at the finish line. That kind of sentimental agonizing struggle that grows during holidays simply can't withstand the realities of daily life.

The translated title of this movie is rather old-fashioned: "Love at First Sight"... How to put it... It's like wanting to order a plate of boiled beef, but finding that the menu calls it: beef and cabbage cooked in hot oil with garlic, Sichuan peppercorns, and chili peppers.

The movie is quite good and is perfect for watching on a holiday or weekend morning. The overall tone is bright and cheerful, with almost no cool colors. The themes are love and vacation, both of which can bring joy.

The film's narrative structure is actually quite old-fashioned: two friends with an ambiguous relationship meet every now and then to do something, based on some kind of agreement. In "Childhood Sweethearts," it's a music box; in this film, it's a vacation. The male and female leads are also classic characters: a deeply affectionate but taciturn man paired with a charming and lively woman.

Although the premise is a bit cliché, the film is very enjoyable to watch. In short: handsome men and beautiful women + exotic scenery + romantic vacation = two relaxing hours.

My overall feeling about "Love in the Summer Holiday" is similar to this: lying on the sofa in winter and seeing a post about "friends at the beach" - you would click on it, you would feel envious, and you might even think: Okay, I'll pretend I'm on vacation too.

The film really knows how to capture the feeling of "going out to play": from the awkward reunion at the airport to jumping to various cities to check off sights (such as Barcelona and New Orleans), the whole film is like a travel photo album that is repeatedly flipped through.

But the most interesting part isn't "where they went," but "why these two people never said anything." The female lead's quick tongue and impulsive actions, combined with the male lead's tendency to swallow his words and suppress his emotions, are like chatting with an old classmate for three hours on WeChat, but suddenly not knowing what to do with your hands when you meet in person.

The film also understands these awkwardly familiar moments—two people standing very close, yet their eyes always seem to avert for a second; the conversation is lighthearted, but the pauses feel like they're stuck in their throats. Many reviews have also said that its only real strength lies in whether this pair can convince the audience that "they genuinely care." And in this respect, it at least doesn't completely fail.

My second impression is that it treats "jumping through timelines" as its main course. You'll see the story switching between "this trip this year" and a flashback to a previous year; accompanied by a series of popular songs to build up the "atmosphere." Some people will like this; but others will find it annoying, and some film critics have even directly complained that the editing is uninteresting and the jumps make you wonder "when have we gotten to the point yet?"

And, it can sometimes feel really "too far away." It's not that the characters aren't intimate, but literally: the camera doesn't like to get close to their faces, but rather stays at a distance that's more like "I'm watching you two fall in love." If you're particularly into the kind of romance where a single glance can make you swoon, this approach might make you feel less thrilled and more like, "Okay, you two can continue."

To summarize: I would recommend this film to two types of people—first, those who want a lighthearted, scenic romantic comedy that's perfect for "sunbathing in an electronic world"; and second, fans of the original novel who want to see what "the couple from the book" actually look like and how they test each other.

It's not suitable for the third type of person: those who expect it to be like a classic romance film, with every line sharp and every dialogue a gem. It's more like a sweet drink with ice: thirst-quenching and smooth, but don't expect it to have a lingering sweetness the next day.

I kind of feel somewhat similar with Bobby.we both grew up in a very small city out of nowhere, we both have seen the world, we both dated a lot ,for her is her ex-s for me os my dates. so I kinda know her struggle, but I have different point of view with the endings but obviously that is for the film ,is for the narrative ,is for a happy ending. The book is actually on my list. I even downloaded, but I never really finished it. I am a horrible at reading in English. that's said. she's a lucky one to have the job like that and to have a male friend that always admire her and the be her vacation buddy. I always travel along. it feels free, but I don't mind having a companion. But I do realize that it's kind of pretty privilege. now why the book is very popular because the narration is counter-mainstream counter-reality, because pretty people in these days, they just go straight to the theme. So 10 years is literally impossible. I think this film catch a niche audience that still believes in love is beautiful and worth waiting for. its a nice fantasy to watch on a Sunday night.

Having seen many "more than friends, less than lovers" storylines, this drama truly made me feel both excited and regretful for all the missed opportunities and waiting over the years.

At first glance, neither the male nor female lead is particularly good-looking, but after a while, I found them increasingly pleasing to the eye. The way they understood each other without saying anything, their ambiguous relationship, and their quick retraction when about to cross that line deeply moved me.

Many of the lines are incredibly nuanced and progressively deeper. Two people with completely different lifestyles, personalities, and views on love and marriage are drawn to each other, traveling together as "friends" and witnessing many important moments in each other's lives—this in itself transcends any intimate relationship. Therefore, initial impressions and prejudices simply fade away as they spend time together.

The timeline interweaves, sometimes showing the couple's interactions in real life, and sometimes pulling back to summers from a few years ago. Those fragmented vacations haven't faded with time; instead, they've become more vivid. What I love is that gaze that falls on the other person without them even realizing it—tender yet timid. I think love is the same way.

Love takes many forms, including sacrifice. I give up what I have, my hobbies, just to be closer to you—I saw this sacrificial love in the male and female protagonists. However, I personally don't approve of it. If it's about sacrificing one's own autonomy to get closer to another person, I can't agree with it. Fortunately, the female protagonist's work doesn't require much geographical restriction, so this ending is plausible. But what if it were something else? Would it still end this way?