El viñedo que nos une

Making wine and drama. Jean (Pio Marmaï) left his family home ten years ago. When father falls ill, he returns and reunites with his sister Juliette (Ana Girardot) and brother Jérémie (François Civil), to sort out stuff between them. Ah… families. Their problems and conflicts seem very important for themselves, but are often difficult to understand for bystanders. This is also true for writer-director Cédric Klapisch's latest, slow-burning but quite nice drama about the importance of family and the power of forgiving. The short summary feels sugary, and Klapisch does aim for feel-good, but the movie does not try to manipulate with audience in any tasteless way. It is actually realistic depiction of well-behaved and intelligent family's life, where everybody has their problems but these are not solved in overtly dramatic way often expected from family sagas. This subtle approach doesn't make for very engaging drama, but the feel-good factor is important part of the movie. If you care to invest yourself in these characters' lives, you will probably feel like a part of their group in their end. Which is the best thing this kind of movie can ask for. One can also learn quite a lot about making and appreciating wine. 113 minutes makes it rather long watch, it's not a standout work but quietly confident and satisfying. I don't like international and also Estonian title „Back to Burgundy" („Tagasi Burgundiasse") which is not as eloquent as the original – directly translated „What Links Us" („Mis meid seob"). But you would have to watch the movie to care about this, I guess.