A YEAR IN PROVENCE is the four-part adaptation of Peter Mayle's true-life bestseller about the first year he and his wife (played by John Thaw and Lindsay Duncan) spent in a... more
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Plot: Based on author Peter Mayles' book of the same name which relates his own experiences of life in a sleepy French farmhouse in Provence.
DVD Description
A YEAR IN PROVENCE is the four-part adaptation of Peter Mayle's true-life bestseller about the first year he and his wife (played by John Thaw and Lindsay Duncan) spent in a 200-year-old French farmhouse, and the gastronomical splendours they experienced. Originally produced for the A&E cable channel, the volumes are split according to the year's seasons: "Winter," "Spring," "Summer," and "Fall."
...at their Provencal home. However the family are finding the 3 hour trek to the rural house in the hills exhausting on a weekly basis. Another solution presents itself in the form of a former pupil of Joseph's who has a not very legal but very effective idea to reach their country home faster. Joseph being a man of integrity and a school teacher has a dilemma, should he force his wife and children to become exhausted taking the long route or should he risk his position by taking the illegal shorter route? Along the chosen route there is adventure, peril, but also much comic humour.
The end of the film changes mood suddenly as Jean-Pierre Darras as the voice of the adult Pagnol tells us briefly of what became of his family and friends over the following years and about his own rise in fortunes which saw him open his own film making company Gaumont...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: A decent feel-good flick with beautiful shots of Provencal landscape. Disadvantages: Predictable and unoriginal plot.
...*** This is a film only review ***
A Good Year is adapted from the novel of the same name by the prolific Francophile author Peter Mayle, and embraces the essence of his writing which actively celebrates the astounding beauty of the Provencal landscape, culture and quirky inhabitants.
THE MAIN CAST
Russell Crowe - Max Skinner
Freddie Highmore - Young Max
Albert Finney - Uncle Henry
Marion Cotillard - Fanny Chenal
Francis Duflot - Didier Bourdon
Ludivine Duflot - Isabelle Candelier
Papa Duflot - Jacques Herlin
Abbie Cornish - Christie Roberts
Gemma - Archie Panjabi
Charlie Willis - Tom Hollander
Director & Producer - Ridley Scott (Gladiator, Black Hawk Down)
THE PLOT
"How far would you go to get your life back?"
A Good Year begins with the peaceful, placid atmosphere of a rambling vineyard estate, "La Siroque", in Provence...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Charming family film, beautiful cinematography and music score, gentle humour. Disadvantages: Rose tinted nostalgia, no real plot, no extras, subtitles cannot be turned off!
...'My Fathers Glory' (to give the English translation) is the 1990 adaptation of Marcel Pagnol's 1957 memoir of the same name detailing his childhood years. The info on the Ciao link regarding this dvd is incorrect in stating it is about Marcels friendship with a girl, that actually refers to 'le Chateau de Ma Mere' which is the sequel to this film, and continues where this film leaves off.
~Who was Marcel Pagnol?~
For those of you who are not familiar he was a French film maker and author of (among others) 'L'eau des Collines' which you may better know in it's 1980's film adaption form as 'Jean de Florette' and 'Manon des Souces' starring Gerard Depardieu and Yves Montand. Without going too much into the plot of these films they were about a town gentleman moving to Provence in the early part of the 20th century and his struggle...
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very helpful 17.10.2005
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