Trending
    • Jasmin Mozaffari’s short film ‘Motherland, wins TIFF award
    • Poor Thing, Wins Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival
    • Toronto Film Festival 2023
    • Iranian Influential Women: Rakhshan Bani-Etemad
    • Sundance Film Festival Asia
    • Enea, review
    • French rising star, Adèle Exarchopoulos, 4 top favorite movies
    • Cinematography director Morteza Pursamadi dies at 70
    Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Cinema Without Borders
    • Home
    • Feature Story
    • News
    • Conversations
    • Festivals
    • Cinema Tech
    • Film Reviews
    • CinéEqual
    • Other Arts
    • Archives
    Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Cinema Without Borders
    You are at:Home»Film Reviews»French drama ‘Back to Burgundy’, Film Review

    French drama ‘Back to Burgundy’, Film Review

    0
    By World Cinema Reports' Editors on 03/22/2018 Film Reviews

    Wine helps the emotions flow, but so, apparently, does winemaking in Cédric Klapisch’s absorbing family drama “Back to Burgundy,” a film so rich and pleasurable you’d be forgiven if you thought about it each time you have a glass of red.

    Set in the picturesque winemaking region of France with a lot of time spent among the vines, the film recounts the uneasy reunification of three siblings after their father’s death, their efforts to keep the winery going under the threat of a hefty inheritance tax that might force them to sell.

    Jean (Pio Marmaï), who hated his father, has been away for 10 years, starting a family and a winery of his own in Australia. He returns as his father lies near death; and after he dies, Jen stays for the harvest to help out — and to grapple with the financial particulars with his sister Juliette (Ana Girardot) and brother Jeremie (François Civil).

    Although Jean’s main beef was with his father, his long absence has naturally created some issues between him and Juliette, who is now in charge of the winery, and Jeremie, who has married the daughter of a neighboring winery and is being groomed by her father to perhaps run the rival vineyard.

    Each sibling has a personal decision to make which would affect the other two — and the future of the family estate. Jean has a son with his estranged girlfriend in Australia and prefers a straight sale of the estate to pay off the hefty tax and earn a tidy profit. Jeremie is pulled in two directions — his family winery or his wife’s family winery. And Juliette who has essentially been running the place since her father got sick, is quietly gaining confidence after years of being second-guessed by the male-dominated enterprise. She most definitely wants to keep owning and running the family label.

    Meanwhile, the grapes need harvesting, and de-stemming, and stomping, and of course, drinking. There are parties, and arguments and tender moments. Any wine aficionado should see this movie, even if the filmmakers had bungled the family dramatics. But the bonus is the film is terrific in all areas, with a dense screenplay by Klapisch and Santiago Amigorena, and engaging performances by all.

    Klapisch, who scored hits early in his career with “When the Cat’s Away” (1996) and 2002 “L’auberge espagnole” (“The Spanish Apartment,” 2002), turns in one of his best films.

    Perhaps the spirit of the film is best captured when Jean compares winemaking in Australia and France.

    “Here you don’t make wine for the next two years,” he says. “You make it for the next 10, 20 years from now. In Australia, Everything’s meant to be fresh, things are not meant to last.

    “They’re different pleasures, my love.”

    By G. Allen Johnson for San Francisco Chronicle

    Back to Burgundy
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    World Cinema Reports' Editors

    Cinema Without Borders' reporters from around the globe search and find international cinema content for our audience. when an outside source is used, we provide you with a link to the original source at the end of the article

    Related Posts

    Enea, review

    Finally Dawn, Review

    Between Two Worlds, Review

    Comments are closed.



    Most donations are tax deductible.
    Latest Stories
    09/19/2023

    Jasmin Mozaffari’s short film ‘Motherland, wins TIFF award

    09/10/2023

    Poor Thing, Wins Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival

    09/07/2023

    Toronto Film Festival 2023

    09/07/2023

    Iranian Influential Women: Rakhshan Bani-Etemad

    Bridging The Border Award

    At a time when physical, religious, racial, cultural, and economic borders divide the population of our planet, efforts to bridge those borders should be appreciated. In that spirit, Cinema Without Borders presents Bridging the Borders Award to the films that are most successful in bridging and …Read More

     

    I, Immigrant, International Film Festival
    CineEqual

    CinéEqual represents filmmakers, institutions, and community members with a focus on social justice cinema. As an integrated unit of CWB, it promotes a diverse, inclusive, and equitable democratic society that values the worth of all humans…Read More

     

    About
    About

    Cinema Without Borders is a meeting place of independent cinema. Based in Los Angeles, CWB puts the spotlight on rising talent around the globe to achieve its mission, which is to serve and strengthen communities of filmmakers and film students across real and virtual borders.

    Copyright Cinema Without Borders@2018

    Popular Posts
    01/02/2001

    Cinecon 46-The 46th edition of the Classic Film Festival

    10/09/2006

    An Interview with Jonathan Wolf, Managing Director of AFM

    10/11/2006

    Film & TV production in Afghanistan

    Article Photos
    NasserFarhoudiWP
    SiggrpphSlider
    FundingCoverImage
    6-RADUSlider
    Nouredin-WP-Slider
    NOHOFestival-WP-Slider
    MiamiFF-WP-Slider
    MarkTamez-WP-Slider
    LouderThanBombs-WP-Slider
    HP-Rick-WP-Slider
    HP-Bridging-2-WP-Slider
    HP-Bridging-1-WP-Slider
    Contacts & Credits

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.