Wine lovers will have much to enjoy among the vineyards that serve as the setting for the intense family drama “Back to Burgundy,” directed by Cédric Klapisch, who co-wrote the screenplay with Santiago Amigorena and Jean-Marc Roulot. The story involves two brothers and a sister deciding how to deal with ownership of the family vineyard, and the resentments that have flourished over the years.
Jean, played by Pio Marmaï, has been traveling the world and has his own vineyard in Australia. He has been away for 10 years and has not been in touch, especially about the death of his mother. Now he has returned because of his father being fatally ill.
There is special resentment on the part of his brother Jérémie, portrayed tautly by François Civil. Not so on the part of their sister Juliette, played warmly by Ana Girardot, who is happy to see her brother again and also takes the lead in the vineyard responsibilities.
To complicate matters, Jean has ties back in Australia with his romantic partner and their child and he spends time on the phone trying to explain his continued visit to France and his delayed return. What will happen to that relationship? Will Jean decide to remain at the vineyard?
The death of their father leaves the siblings with a forbidding tax bill as they inherit the property. In addition, Jérémie has a father-in-law who is a wine tycoon and looks down upon the prospect of his son-in-law and siblings rising to the occasion of enabling the vineyard to survive.
There has to be some resolution to all of the problems, which one might chalk up to plot clichés. But all the while there is the atmosphere of the beautifully filmed vineyard and the Burgundy winemaking country. It would be nice if only one could drink a glass or two while watching the movie unfold.
However, the good acting and visual splendor give the film its own high at times, and how all is resolved makes sense as family drama. A Music Box Films release. Reviewed March 23, 2018.