A Good Year

A Good Year is a romantic drama film directed by Ridley Scott and based on the book of the same name by Peter Mayle. A Good Year follows the story of a middle aged man named Max Skinner. Max now lives in London, but as a boy, he spent serene summers on a vineyard owned by his Uncle Henry in the city of Provenance in the south of France. Max has grown into a tough, aggressive investment trader and forgotten all about those blissful childhood summers. But out of the blue one day, Max is suddenly reminded of those memories when he is notified that his Uncle has died and left Max the vineyard estate.

Max takes a short break from work to travel to Provenance and take pictures of the house to put up for sale. But his trip becomes an extended stay when Max falls into a swimming pool in the back of the house and misses his flight. Because he missed an important meeting, Max is suspended from working for a week.

In this chance accident, Max is given an opportunity. He meets a cast of characters at the vineyard, including the old, committed winemaker of the property named Francis Duflot, a young backpacker from Napa Valley who claims to be Max's long lost cousin, and a beautiful cafe owner named Fanny. It doesn't take long for Max to remember who he was as a child and to be completely transformed by the farm and the warm people of Provence.

But when the week is over, Max is given a choice by his boss, Sir Nigel, between a life as a partner in the firm, or money and the freedom to cultivate his own life.

Russell Crowe stars as Max Skinner, Albert Finney as Uncle Henry, Marion Cotillard as Fanny Chenal, Abbie Cornish as Christine Roberts, Didier Bourdon as Francis Duflot, and Kenneth Cranham as Sir Nigel.