Saturday, July 21, 2007

Conversations with my gardener

A french painter inherits his childhood home in the countryside and returns to live there. He hires assorted tradesmen to help make it liveable, including a gardener to recreate his mother's kitchen garden. The gardener is a retired railway worker and, serendipitously, one of the painter's schoolmates. The film follows the re-creation of their relationship and the lifeblood it infuses into the painter's other relationships and into his painting.

Going to this film is like being part of a really good conversation - its engrossing and entertaining, and it makes you laugh. The two protagonists are likeable and articulate and the dialogue is witty."Can't he get another job?" "Don't you read the papers? Jobs are like tigers - a species facing extinction" or "Is he a bit stupid?" " More than a bit!"

It reminds us that human beings are fallible and that life is short, and that we should cherish the ones near to us while we have them. The big screen experience isn't vital for this movie, so waiting for the DVD would be perfectly reasonable.

Anne's rating: 4/5
Ian's rating: 4/5

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