A GOOD YEAR

I can’t help commenting on 'A Good Year'...film based on the novel ' A Year in Provence'. Actually I can’t help watching it over and over again. I think it is the most romantic movie in a classic sense (it talks about falling in love, wine, France…what more?) in a contemporary setting. A winemaker has a difficult life. But if he gets it right, he’s had a good year .That’s what a French winemaker will say ‘It’s been a good year.'
Its breath taking scenery is so picture perfect. It’s exactly the life one imagines in the countryside where you relax surrounded by peaceful pleasant days without a worry in the world.
Russell crow plays Max Skinner a ruthless business man in London, where life is fast for Max, though his character is a witty, crafty, dry the depiction is lighthearted and humorous. (I can’t think of anyone that would have done it better). He inherits a vineyard in south of France after the sudden death of his Uncle, Henry. Henry is this Intriguing gentleman who loves life and enjoys his cloistered existence, who also likes spending time with his nephew (Max) other then being around women(not the same one for long) and making fine wine in his chateau . Max visits Provence after Henry’s death and regrets not seeing him for the last 10years. The story is very simple but its shot like real life, where every scene is stretched and well contemplated. It contains a prolonged silence in every scene of Max’s realizations, accompanied by his nostalgic flashbacks with excellent background score. As he reminisce his grand childhood summer’s spend with his uncles who induced in him a fine sense of beauty and judgments, that surrounds us and needs to be recognized, chosen and lived in. “when you find something good, you must take care of it and let it grow.” The effects of these flashbacks are to know the grooming of Max that helps as the story unfolds.
Other characters that give some pace to the movie are Henry’s illegitimate daughter and Francis Duflot the ‘vinyo’ who create a mild drama that complicate Max’s inheritance. The relationship between Duflot and Max is of friendship and mistrust, Duflot knows Max when he was younger but due to distance and time Max’s intentions are being speculated which is worth cause Max does intend selling the property. The film is about Max’s reluctant settlement into what ultimately becomes an intoxicating new chapter. Over the time spend in between the vineyards that remind him of his times spend with his uncle, the deep conversations which help him to grow and savor life.
Max falls in love with a French woman, Fanny Chanel, but his life is in London. How with his subtle new found wisdom he makes the most dramatic and crucial decision of his life. I loved the scene in his office back in London where he chooses to pursue love over a promoted partnership. The Vincent Van Gogh and ‘The Kiss’ which he recognizes…..I feel that, happens so often in our day to day life it all goes unnoticed because they are too trivial things, things that are inconsequential, I think that this movie questions so many aspects of our living and questions the pursuit that’s of no (less!...to save me sum practical face) use if you cant appreciate the little things in life.
It’s France that you imagine, a life in the countryside, the vineyards, and exhilarating backdrops. The fact that whenever Max goes around town, Duflot at home knows his whereabouts, which goes to show the environment of the place. This movie is more about the atmosphere, where you are swept away to the place as you watch it. You imagine the kind of people, the interaction they have and the simple, uncomplicated and plain life they live. Max only realizes the value of this place in comparison to where he lives that is London. “You need one to have the other” -Peter Mayle