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A Good Year




  Caption Promotional Poster
  Amg Id 1:333456
  Imdb Id 0401445
  Producer Ridley Scott
  Director Ridley Scott
  Writer Marc Klein <br><small>(Screenplay)</small><br> Peter Mayle <br><small>(Novel)</small><br>
  Starring Russell Crowe <br> Albert Finney <br> Marion Cotillard <br> Abbie Cornish <br> Tom Hollander <br> Freddie Highmore
  Music Marc Streitenfeld
  Cinematography Philippe Le Sourd
  Editing Dody Dorn
  Distributor Fox 2000 Pictures
  Country USA
  Released November 10 , 2006
  Runtime 118 minutes
  Language English ,<br> French
  Budget US $35 million ( IMDb estimate) {Link without Title}


''A Good Year'' is a 2006 Romantic Comedy Film set in Provence , in southeastern France . It is directed by Ridley Scott . It reunites him with star Russell Crowe , whom he directed in '' Gladiator '', and co-stars Albert Finney . Fox 2000 Pictures distributed the film.


PLOT

Based on author Peter Mayle 's international bestseller of the same name, ''A Good Year'' stars Russell Crowe as Max Skinner ( Freddie Highmore plays him as a child), a cunning Investment expert who, after learning his beloved Uncle Henry ( Albert Finney ) has died without a Last Will And Testament , travels from London to Provence to visit the gorgeous, if overgrown Vineyard he's inherited. Slowly, the Women (especially Fanny Chenal, played by Marion Cotillard , the sultry owner of the local Café ), Wine , and Mediterranean Climate transforms him from a soulless, unloved miser into a warm-hearted man able to appreciate the world he's let pass by him far too long.


CAST



PRODUCTION NOTE

The vineyard scenes were filmed at Château La Canorgue during the 2005 harvest in the Luberon area of Provence. J. Mautner "Luberon is the Next Wine Region on the Big Screen" ''Wine Spectator'' Nov. 30th, 2006


RECEPTION

The film was badly received by critics and (as of January 2007) has estimated losses of around $20 million, being a commercial failure. But in actuality it grossed $40 million world wide and an additional $15 million from DVD sales, making a total of $55 million. That means it had a profit of $25 million since production cost was $30 million. In the US and UK, critics savaged Crowe's performance as miscast and in France it was attacked as cliché-ridden.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6230443.stm However, some reviewers found it romantic and beautiful.

  • ''Appalling from start to finish, A Good Year collapses under clichés of an ochre Luberon made for a loaded Anglo-Saxon élite.'' ''( Libération )''

  • ''A sappy romantic comedy lacking in charm and humor''. ( Rottentomatoes.com )

  • ''Crowe's as excellent a romantic lead as he is a gladiator, and ''A Good Year'' wouldn't be nearly as good without him.'' ''( Metromix.com )''

  • (Crowe's) ''authority as an actor evaporates without any accompanying gain, and Scott... has trouble finding a suitable tempo and style. The movie is wildly overshot and overcut; the simplest scenes jump around from angle to angle. The filmmakers may love Provençe, but they don’t trust the audience to love it; even as a travelogue, the movie is a cheat.'' ''( The New Yorker )''

  • ''A Good Year is never less than visually ravishing, its warm, inviting vistas of the French countryside and its unhurried, pleasant vibe putting the viewer in the same frame of mind as Max.'' ''( The Miami Herald )''



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