The new film "Back to Burgundy" will best be appreciated by true wine-lovers, but even if you are, like me, a dedicated Diet Coke-head, there's a lot to savor in this melancholy comedy-drama from veteran French director Cedric Klapisch. Known by many indie-film buffs as the creator of 2002's "L'Auberge Espagnol" ("The Spanish Apartment"), about a group of college students from many countries who share vacation digs, Klapisch has a real talent for corralling large ensembles of actors from varied backgrounds, a skill that serves him very well in "Back to Burgundy."
The plot involves two brothers and a sister who grow up in the shadow of the Burgundy region's fabled vineyards and the loyalty they command from both consumers and growers. We meet Jean (Pio Marmai) as he returns home from a decade's absence, mostly in a wine-growing region of Australia where he's acquired a girlfriend and cute five-year-old son. Jean is back to see his dying father, a stiff-necked patriarch he's long been alienated from. Jean's younger and very handsome brother Jeremie (Francois Civil) and strong-willed sister Juliette (Ana Girardot) find themselves facing huge inheritance taxes unless they can sell part of the family's Burgundy wine groves. In order to sell, the siblings have to find a way to get back on the same page, something that hasn't happened since they were kids.
The film's strengths are in Klapisch's ability to crawl inside each of the siblings, unearthing long-buried resentments and regrets. The filmmakers also revel in showing what makes Burgundy tick, providing a great lesson for Jean on why it's hard to go home again.
There are no special "homo hooks" except for Jeremie's radiant beauty and the fact that his character has the spunk to tell off a neighboring patriarch who's out to wrestle away a key part of their family's domain on the cheap. At 113 minutes, it may feel a tad long for those not totally wine-driven, but "Back to Burgundy" is that rare art-house fare that overcomes our resistance to subtitles. In French, with a smattering of English, opens Friday.
Francois Civil as Jeremie, Pio Marmai as Jean, and Ana Girardot as Juliette in "Back to Burgundy." Photo: Music Box Films