Ritorno in Borgogna

The cinematography was nice. And the use of the old and the young family members mixed together worked...but someone needed to edit this down to 1.5 hours at the most. I have watched some wonderful french films in the past...this wasn't one of them. And all the women looked alike...odd casting...looking forward to the next Marion Cotillard film.

It is an excellent movie that made me experience a lot of feelings. Definitely, needs to be watched by people. All the interactions between the main characters make the public feel really involved with the movie. The director really did an effort in applying the best technology for the elaboration of the movie.

A film that is 30% too long, rather prosaic and lacking in close-ups or actors who could hold them, combined with a very ordinary script and ploddingly literal screenplay. Phew! So you guessed I was underwhelmed. And there were times I wondered if I was watching a coroporate video on how to make wine ( sorry, French wine), its clearly better than that made elsewhere in the world, as they were keen to impress on us. Then compare this 'made for TV' effort to some of the wonderfully poetic movies that have come out of France..... and you wonder why they bothered. I can think of better ways to spend $10m.

Family reunification in the beautiful countryside of Borgogne, France, where the two brothers and the sister meed themselves in the old family house among the vaste vineyards. They have to deal with the past and plan the future, following the father's death. Not really a compelling plot, but a pleasant family comedy, where the passion for wine is celebrated with continous tastings. The settings are suggestive and the product is well-finished.

The beginning of the movie is particularly derivative: the would be black sheep of the family back in his native land after years around the world, this is as old as the hills , like the prodigal son of our Sunday school ;of course he thought his dad did not like him (which of course is not true),of course his marriage in Australia runs into difficulties ...cliché to end all the clichés...

Fortunately the movie has other qualities: the cinematography is splendid indeed ,filming on location in the Burgundy vineyard is awesome ;the grape harvest (with the exception of the scene when the harvesters fight with bunches of grapes ,a harvester would never do such a thing,and I know what I'm talking about!)atmosphere is well recreated ,particularly the feast which celebrates the end of the picking.

Besides ,the father who bequeaths his earth in jointly-held ownership to his children ,it's quite convincing : in Zola's "La Terre" , the father ,who was not still dead when he retired,did not go about it in a different way.

In fact,Juliette and Jeremie are much more endearing characters than their eldest sibling.Juliette is a modern woman, we perceive her firm independence of men ,when she leads her harvesters through her vineyard.Jérémie ,a family man ,is still under his father-in-law's thumb, a he-man who 's got plans for him . Juliette is not going to let herself be pushed around by this in-law who has his eye on her valuable property ;but it will take time before her brother rebels ,although stammering out his angry replies.

On the other hand ,when Jean 's wife and their adorable child appear ,all become so predictable that,without his siblings , the screenplay would lose much of its interest.

Beautiful pictures, but an uneven screenplay.