"Under the Tuscan Sky," based on a best seller by Frances Myers, felt like a breath of fresh air after a lackluster summer more noteworthy for a few high tech films, like "Matrix Reloaded" (which is still playing somewhere in the cities of America) and "Pirates of the Caribbean etc." with their CGI chase scenes and skeletons, than for the spate of other films left in their wake. It’s a first class chick flick with Diane Lane looking as seductive as ever.

Lane plays Frances, a respected book reviewer in a funk because her husband dumped her. A quickie divorce leaves her in a void. She feels like a failure as a wife, a lover and as a woman. She needs a change, so when a friend unexpectedly plops a pair of airline tickets for a gay sponsored trip in her lap she sees it as an omen. At least Frances doesn’t have to worry about men hitting on her. Soon she’s off to Tucany, Italy. Frances sees a flyer for a villa for sale several times and then spots the real thing from a bus window. It’s another omen. Seduced by the sensuousness of the countryside and the little old lady who owns the house, Frances buys it on a whim. The broker befriends her, the hired help becomes her surrogate family, and another chance at love is not far behind. All the while, she restores the house to restore her soul.

"Under the Tuscan Sky" is enchanting. It has a wonderful sense of time and place. Once Frances’ affection for Tuscany and its citizens takes root and thrives, she blossoms. The fragrance of her charm is savored by everyone she meets: the realtor who recognizes the sense of loss that dwells within her; the young couple who seek her advice when they want to marry; the traditional father who is blind to his daughter’s romance; the work crew who come to regard her more as a friend than an employer; and the faded English actress (Lindsay Duncan) who thinks Frances needs an affair to brighten her day. Frances needs passionate love not a passionate affair. She longs for a wedding attended by her new family of friends. Frances may not be destined to remarry but her wish to make her villa worthy of a wedding sets the course for the rest of her future.

Wonderful vignettes, pieced together like a patch quilt, blanket the film with Frances’ many moods. These moods are colored by her observations of the role religion plays in the lives of the people, the old man who never smiles when he pays homage to a shrine outside Frances’ window every morning, and family life at a dinner table dominated by a cantankerous grandmother. Some elements of the narrative, like the surprise arrival of Patti, her very pregnant friend, are predictable but the choices Frances makes never are. They are "Under the Tuscan Sky"’s grace notes. Diane Lane captures the highs and lows of a woman trying to grapple with change and responding to each situation with her tinderbox of emotions. When Frances cries it’s a torrent. When she smiles it’s a sunburst that brightens the world around her. "Under the Tuscan Sky" is a perfect match of story and star.

Copyright 2003

"Enchanted April" - (1991) - A remarkable film that relies heavily on its dreamy cinematography to create a romantic mood that creeps up on you. It’s simple story about two repressed English women from the 1920’s who impulsively go off to Italy for a month hoping for a sense of adventure. They take two other women totally unlike themselves to help foot the bill. From Mike Newell the director who gave us "Four Weddings and a Funeral." Miranda Richardson and Josie Lawrence are the instigators. Polly Walker plays a woman tired of men who cannot see the wounded soul hiding behind her surface beauty. Joan Plowwright is the matriarchal figure who tries to impart the wisdom of her life experience. Jim Broadbent, Alfred Molina, and Michael Kitchen are the men in their lives who are transformed along with the women by the sensuality of their surroundings. The aftermath of WW1 figures prominently in several of the movie’s more poignant moments.

You might want to check out the first version of "Enchanted April" from 1935 with Ann Harding for comparison.

"The Truth About Cats and Dogs" (1996) - Male /female relationships are explored with Janeane Garofalo as the host of a talk show about cats and dogs who falls for a good looking guy who falls for her sight unseen because of her love of animals. She talks her good looking air-head girlfriend (Uma Thurman) into impersonating her when he wants to meet her face to face. Better than it sounds with some hilarious moments with Ben Chaplin trying to reconcile the ditsy actions of Uma with the common sense of Garofalo’s radio personality.

"George of the Jungle" (1997) - Co-scripted by Welles, Brendan Fraser is a riot as the title character from the 1960’s cartoon show. I don’t remember the plot as much as I do my daughter’s laughter at George’s childish antics. This is worth a look just to see the range of Audrey Welle’s talent. Based on her other credits, I suspect Welles’ contribution to the script has something to do George’s relationship with the woman who unleashes his animal instincts.