#2 on my top picks

#2 is A Good Year

PLOT

A London stock broker/banker visits the vineyard he grew up in in France after receiving notice that his uncle had died and left the property to him. Max Skinner played by Russell Crowe relives his past and finds himself while fixing up the vineyard and going to the town market. He meets a young lady and falls in love, and must decide if he wants to stay in France or go back to his job in London where he would become partner of his trading firm.

SHOTS

When I watch movies I try to travel to another place and learn about a new culture and through this movie I can do so. With beautiful wide shots of landscape and architecture I can learn more and take in the beauty of the locations in London and France. The director uses lots of close up shots to display anger, confusion and romance with well thought-out transitions to medium, tracking, and panning shots.

INTERPRETATION

Skinner, an uptight know-all creates the impression that he has left his old life behind and is always focused on the money. When Skinner finally gets to France you can see he’s out of his element and quickly gets annoyed because most tasks are done by his assistant. He doesn’t understand much French and gets annoyed when the French people don’t speak english. When he finally arrives at his vineyard you can see memories of his uncle Henry are slowly coming back and all the knowledge that was passed down is trickling back. Slowly Skinner finds himself and with the help of his old friends he realizes life isn’t all about making money, and more about being happy. Skinner doesn’t seem to have a lot of love or friends in his life in London, and so bringing back old friends and finding love can really change his life. This is also relatable for anyone. Money isn’t always the most important thing and although it can fix many problems having loving friends and family will always prevail.

EVALUATION

I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and felt like I got to see into the drama of someone else’s life. I liked the way they encapsulated the background but kept the foreground the center of attention. There was some great comedic moments (Skinner smells the dirt, rubbing it onto his hands only to find out it’s manure.) and the romance isn’t too cheesy. The movie reminds me of visiting my grandparents and although it brings back sadness just like the movie, the good memories far outweigh it. The location scouting was amazing and the director did a good job of making London look dark and depressing while France looked clean and sunny. I will definitely be showing my friends and family this movie and would happily rewatch it.