:
Hubert De Montille,
Aime Guibert
:
Jonathan Nossiter,
Jonathan Nossiter
see all cast/crew...
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: Velocity Home Entertainment
: Documentary, Foreign, Political & Social Issues, France, Italy
: 135 min.
: English
: English
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Filmmaker Jonathan Nossiter is a serious wine connoisseur as well as a practicing sommelier when he isn't busy behind the camera, and he's combined his two passions in this documentary on the international wine business. Mondovino offers a witty but well-informed look at how business concerns and the homogenization of tastes around the world are changing the way wine is being made. Nossiter's primary focus is on American vintners and their new degree of worldwide acceptance (in part due to the efforts of wildly influential U.S. wine critic Robert Parker), as well as French wine makers who are struggling to maintain a more traditional approach in the wake of a rapidly shifting business climate, such as Hubert de Montille and Yvonne Hegoburu. Nossiter deals with the personalities of his subjects as much as their status in the wine business, and he frequently introduces us to the pets of his interview subjects. Mondovino was screened in competition at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
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| Winos of the World, Unite!
by talltale
July 12, 2005 - 8:44 PM PDT
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3 out of 4 members found this review helpful
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If you care a fig about wine or think you know anything about the subject, you must see MONDOVINO. If you DO know a lot about wine, this movie may anger you--particularly if you're from "Wine Spectator" or the Mondavi firm--but in that case you will simply have to watch it, just to be able to prepare your rebuttal.
Jonathan Nossiter's inclusive, gently incursive documentary is a marvel in many respects. It will grab you from first frame and keep you hanging on everyone's every word (we must have hit the repeat button more than 50 times so as not to miss something key). Yes, this filmmaker and wine lover sides with the little guy over the big, with the wine producer who wants to make something special rather than something thats a best-seller. The marvel is that he has so charmed all his interviewees that they feel able to speak out about everything from their racism to their unwitting stupidity and prejudice, their families, their business dealings, their competitors and more.
Nossiter never intrudes; he just asks and records and gives everyone plenty of rope. You may insist that he's edited the movie to score his own points, but clearly he didn't force anybody to say anything. Without undue fuss or pushing, the filmmaker offers you a meal of politics, economics, sociology and psychology--all easily digested due to the drink. Wine-wise, I can't afford the good stuff, that's for sure. But I doubt I will ever again open a bottle (more likely a box) without thinking, at least for a moment, about this wonderful film. (Dog lovers: there's a special treat here for you, too.) |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 6.54)
52 Votes
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