Vintner's Luck, The

Aroview: Contentious, opulent NZ-made adaptation of the much-loved Elizabeth Knox novel, ostensibly about the relationship between a guardian angel and a young peasant winemaker in 19th Century Burgundy, France.

Incensing many with its abandonment of Knox’s homosexual narrative (and thus, deeper themes set in theology and spirituality) between angel and vintner (played by Dardenne brothers regular Renier), while meekly favouring a love triangle involving the vintner’s wife (Castle-Hughes) and baroness (Farmiga), dir. Caro’s film ultimately settles for mediocrity, with the deflated storyline never rising above conventional period romance. Gorgeous visuals aside, fans of the novel know well by now to steer clear; the unprejudiced, though, may welcome its earthy, at times sensual tale of wine-making lust and ambition.