Product: Under the Tuscan Sun (2003)
Rating: 4.0
Wonderful romantic film about planning for a dream
Following a divorce in which she loses her shirt due to California's community property laws, Frances Mayes, an author and book reviewer, goes on a trip to Cortona, Italy, where she ends up buying Bramasole, an ancient villa from a countess and sets about rebuilding the ruins of her life amid the beautiful countryside. Her thoughts are voiced through a voiceover narrative, in which her wry wit comes through.Much of her interractions come through with the restoration of the villa, which she decides to undergo after a fierce thunderstorm on her first evening there. The repair work undergone there presents some comic moments, as well as triumphant ones. There are three Polish workers she enlists, one into books, one who is clearly smitten by her, and Pavel, a blonde youth who falls for Chiara, the daughter of the family next door. Frances befriends Pavel, even to the point of sticking up for him when Chiara's parents find out about their the young couple's liaison.Then there's her friend Patty, an Oriental lesbian who's very pregnant and is planning to raise the baby with her partner. She is the sole representative of her earlier life, and her appearance in the villa signifies that one can't completely break away from one's roots. That concept is also demonstrated by an old man who keeps putting flowers at a stone shrine across her. She waves at him but he refuses to return her gesture, merely staring at her with his sad, broken-hearted face which, like Frances, made me wonder what his story was.However, the most interesting one is Katherine, a blonde English expatriot dressed in black, with a penchant for wide brimmed hats and eating ice-cream cones. She is a direct contrast to Frances, savouring life, even modelling semi-nude for an Italian studmuffin named Zeus.Two ideas come through in this movie. One is something that Katherine tells Frances, never to lose your childhood innocence, something told her long ago by Fifi, a.k.a. Federico Fellini. There's a nod to Silvia's fountain scene from La Dolce Vita involving her.The other is things falling into place even though the circumstances aren't right. In a moment of unsurety, Frances's wish to one day have a family and wedding in a villa she wonders if she should have bought, is given an analogy by Martini, her real estate agent, who tells her of a railway build between the place and Vienna even there were no trains built in Italy. Eventually, the trains were built and were ready for the railway. Still another analogy is the story Katherine tells of hunting high and low for ladybugs. Tired, she fell asleep on the grass, and upon waking up, found herself covered with them.The scenery is a panoply of beauty, be it the sparkling blue Mediterranean, the fields of red flowers, or the white-columned buildings in the city. Diane Lane is a marvel as Frances, expressive in moments of hurt, doubt, and of course sheer joy, especially when she scores for the first time since her divorce. She even has a nice bemused laugh that charmed me, and her playing a character I wanted to root for through her trials. And she looks stunning in that white dress. I see a Best Actress nomination here. However, Lindsay Duncan steals the movie as Katherine, and despite her limited screen time, is certainly a character to watch. Best Supporting Actress maybe?And Vincent Riotta lends strong support as the reserved but sympathetic Martini. Movies comparable to this include A Room With A View and Enchanted April, on finding oneself and following one's dreams even in the face of emotional disaster, so don't automatically stick this with the "chick flick" label.So glad I went to see this the day before it left my local theatre!