The Vintner's Luck (film)
| A Heavenly Vintage | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Niki Caro |
| Produced by |
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| Written by |
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| Based on |
The Vintner's Luck by Elizabeth Knox |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Antônio Pinto |
| Distributed by |
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Release date
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Running time
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121 minutes |
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| Language | English |
| Budget | €8.5 million |
A Heavenly Vintage is a 2009 internationally co-produced romantic drama film co-written and directed by Niki Caro. It is loosely based on the novel The Vintner's Luck by Elizabeth Knox. The film had its international premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on 12 September 2009.
The film stars Jérémie Renier, Vera Farmiga, Gaspard Ulliel, and Keisha Castle-Hughes. This marks the second time Caro has worked with New Zealand actress Castle-Hughes, who was nominated for an Academy Award at age 13 for her role in Caro's international breakthrough Whale Rider in 2002.
The passionate tale of Sobran Jodeau (Jérémie Renier), an ambitious young peasant winemaker and the three loves of his life – his beautiful wife Celeste (Keisha Castle-Hughes), the proudly intellectual baroness Aurora de Valday (Vera Farmiga) and Xas (Gaspard Ulliel), an angel who strikes up an unlikely but enduring friendship that borders on eroticism with him.
Under Xas' guidance, Sobran is forced to fathom the nature of love and belief and in the process grapples with the sensual, the sacred and the profane – in pursuit of the perfect vintage.
The film was directed by Niki Caro and co-written by Caro and Joan Scheckel. The film is based on the novel The Vintner's Luck by Elizabeth Knox. Knox, the writer of the book, was disappointed at the direction the film took as she felt Niki Caro "took out what the book was actually about", referring to the romantic relationship between Sobran and Xas, which was a core aspect of the novel and was very noticeably toned down in the film version, even though it still hints at it. The film was shot in Auckland, New Zealand, Belgium, and France – including in the medieval castle of Berzé.
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