A GOOD YEAR  2006  117 minutes

Directed by Ridley Scott of Alien and Blade Runner fame, this comparatively “small” film came about when Scott and his neighbor in Provence, the writer Peter Mayle collaborated on a fish-out-of-water story involving an Englishman who inherits a French vineyard.

The premise of the English abroad could be a genre of its own, with Enchanted April, A Room with a View, and The Durrells of Corfu being prime examples. In A Good Year, the Englishman is of a particularly arrogant variety, played by Russell Crowe, a high-wire London financial trader looking to make a quick sale of his uncle’s dilapidated chateau and vineyard. Some very French complications soon arise, miring Crowe’s character in the nuances of the local culture, while memories of his curmudgeonly uncle (Albert Finney) and romance with a restauranteur (Marion Cotillard) awaken his better instincts.

BE ADVISED:  This film is rated PG-13 with smoking, drinking, profanity, sexuality, and a rather uncomfortable swim in an empty pool.

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