The Vintner Gets Lucky, Or Doesn't On the screening roster for the
Toronto International Film Festival is a New Zealand film designed for oenophiles, or lovers of historical romance, or maybe even gay marriage sympathizers.
The plot of
The Vintner's Luck focuses on a 19th century peasant winemaker and his quest to create the perfect vintage, along with the help of the angel he loves.
No doubt film buffs will want to see it on any score because it was produced by
Nicky Caro, the filmmaker who previously directed the award winning
Whale Rider. Starring in the film (as the winemaker's wife) is
Keisha Castle-Hughes, the child lead in
Whale Rider, now all grown up. Other actors include Belgian actor
Jeremie Renier as the farmer and French actor
Gaspard Ulliel as the angel. American actress
Vera Farmiga plays the aristocratic landowner who gets bitten by the winemaking bug.
The film was based on the best selling novel by New Zealander
Elizabeth Knox, and filming took place near Auckland, as well as in France and Belgium.
Let's hope the movie lives up to its promise or "The Vintner Sucks" is going to be much too easy a headline for the critics.
Here's the
trailer.
