Last night I felt like watching a movie, so I went to the video store to check out what’s new. I found a movie which I remembered was the film version of Peter Mayle’s bestseller ‘A Good Year’. So I thought I might as well watch it:
‘A Good Year’, directed by Ridley Scott, stares Russell Crowe in the role of Max Skinner, a British investment broker who is very successful in his job and believes he has all the things one needs to have a good life. He doesn’t do weekends and he doesn’t take holidays: Max Skinner makes money. His motto is: “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing!”
Everything begins to change though, when Max learns that his beloved Uncle Henry (Albert Finney) has died without a last will and testament. Being his closest blood relative, Max inherits his uncle’s chateau and vineyard in Provence, where he used to spend his summers as a child. Initially, Max is only interested in making money with it, but after some time he begins to recall the wonderful summers he spent with his eccentric Uncle Henry in Provence. There was a great bond between Max and his uncle, who shared all his wisdom and knowledge with him and taught him a lot about life.
Max is busy renovating the chateau and slowly becoming friends with Francis Duflot, who is still tending the vines after three decades, when California girl Christie turns up claiming to be an illegitimate daughter of the deceased uncle and therefore rightful owner of the chateau and vineyard. Max, suspecting her to be a fraud, invites her to stay in order to find out more about her.
There’s another woman though, Fanny Chenal (Marion Cotillard), to whom Max has become totally smitten. Reluctant at first, Fanny soon gives in and goes on a date with Max and surprise, surprise…they fall in love with each other. The end is quite obvious: Max turns into a warm-hearted man able to appreciate life in Provence and after having lost his job he decides to go back to France and reunite with Funny Chenal. He makes Christie the rightful owner of the vineyard and they all live happily together until the end of times…
I thought the ending of the film was obvious right from the beginning and the storyline was rather unrealistic. I just can’t imagine that someone like Max Skinner, who is so terribly in love with his job and only thinks about making money, would change his lifestyle completely and decide to move to Provence after having lived there for one (!) week. Then he has only one single date with this woman, Funny Chenal, and immediately realizes that she is his great love and that he wants to spend the rest of his life with that woman. I mean come on, it doesn’t work like that!!! But despite all these unrealistic facts, I still liked the movie. It makes you aware of the things that really matter in life and it also gives you a very good idea of what it’s like to live in Provence. I loved the whole setting of film and the scenery was just stunning. So especially for those reading ‘A year in Provence’ I would recommend this film - you’ve got to be into romantic movies though :-)
‘A Good Year’, directed by Ridley Scott, stares Russell Crowe in the role of Max Skinner, a British investment broker who is very successful in his job and believes he has all the things one needs to have a good life. He doesn’t do weekends and he doesn’t take holidays: Max Skinner makes money. His motto is: “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing!”
Everything begins to change though, when Max learns that his beloved Uncle Henry (Albert Finney) has died without a last will and testament. Being his closest blood relative, Max inherits his uncle’s chateau and vineyard in Provence, where he used to spend his summers as a child. Initially, Max is only interested in making money with it, but after some time he begins to recall the wonderful summers he spent with his eccentric Uncle Henry in Provence. There was a great bond between Max and his uncle, who shared all his wisdom and knowledge with him and taught him a lot about life.
Max is busy renovating the chateau and slowly becoming friends with Francis Duflot, who is still tending the vines after three decades, when California girl Christie turns up claiming to be an illegitimate daughter of the deceased uncle and therefore rightful owner of the chateau and vineyard. Max, suspecting her to be a fraud, invites her to stay in order to find out more about her.
There’s another woman though, Fanny Chenal (Marion Cotillard), to whom Max has become totally smitten. Reluctant at first, Fanny soon gives in and goes on a date with Max and surprise, surprise…they fall in love with each other. The end is quite obvious: Max turns into a warm-hearted man able to appreciate life in Provence and after having lost his job he decides to go back to France and reunite with Funny Chenal. He makes Christie the rightful owner of the vineyard and they all live happily together until the end of times…
I thought the ending of the film was obvious right from the beginning and the storyline was rather unrealistic. I just can’t imagine that someone like Max Skinner, who is so terribly in love with his job and only thinks about making money, would change his lifestyle completely and decide to move to Provence after having lived there for one (!) week. Then he has only one single date with this woman, Funny Chenal, and immediately realizes that she is his great love and that he wants to spend the rest of his life with that woman. I mean come on, it doesn’t work like that!!! But despite all these unrealistic facts, I still liked the movie. It makes you aware of the things that really matter in life and it also gives you a very good idea of what it’s like to live in Provence. I loved the whole setting of film and the scenery was just stunning. So especially for those reading ‘A year in Provence’ I would recommend this film - you’ve got to be into romantic movies though :-)
