Paul Sutton (Reeves) returns home from World War II to a wife he barely knows and that doesn’t seem all that exhilarated to see him. And unknown to Paul, she is cheating on him.They got married too soon and before he went to war so…Well, Paul is back and he needs to make a living, by selling chocolates- not something he is all that excited about.
On the way, he meets Victoria (Aitana Sanchez-Gijon) , a beautiful Mexican young woman who is back from college, and she is very upset. After all she is single and pregnant, with the baby of her professor- who is not interested at all being with her. She is very scared of what her extremely traditional father (Giancarlo Giannini) might do. So Paul offers to help. He suggests that he pretends to be her husband, meet her family and leave the next day. At least when the baby news is heard, it won’t be illegitimate. Victoria is touched by his offer and together they go to meet her family. However her father is not thrilled buy the fact that her daughter has run off and gotten married on her own, to a man the family doesn’t know and to top it all, a man who sells chocolate for a living. But the loving mother, grandmother and the grandfather (Anthony Quinn) are all happy for Victoria and welcome Paul into the family. Coincidence, accidents and the grandfather’s acts seem to get his way and Paul has to stay for more than a week, which gives Paul and Victoria more time together and well…fall in love. Of course there are huge problems. Like Paul is already married and has to leave eventually and there’s going to be one hell of a problem if/when her father finds out.
The family has a tremendous grape field and they make quite a nice and rich living out of them. The beauty of the field and the traditions that come with their crops, make wonderful cinematography and just adds to the magic of the story.
The atmosphere, the scenery and the traditions make the movie a lovely watch. The father’s extreme reactions and his quest to get rid of Paul make enough funny scenes. Overall, it is a beautiful film.
Oh yes, it is a girlie movie. It is a chick flick. Bring the labels on. Because it really is a romantic movie. It depicts a love story that is genuine that lacks any type of game-playing and manipulation. Two nice people with two very different backgrounds find each other and fall in love. Although I think this movie is sincere and can be enjoyed by either gender, I can imagine what some boys are going to say about it. Or people will find a way to bash Keanu’s acting, some seem to regard it as a hobby. In fact just the other day a friend actually said “Who the hell ever takes Keanu Reeves seriously?”. Well, to his dismay, I raised my hand – half-joking, and half- making a point. The way I see it, he is awfully underrated. He brings out whatever his role requires him to. And this movie you will see him portraying a sweet,vulnerable and romantic character in the way that it is supposed to be portrayed. So when you leave the Keanu Reeves haters and the people allergic to most/all romantic-movies, you will see that this movie is enjoyable once you leave all the cynicism behind.
End note:
Director: Alfonso Arau, the director of Like Water For Chocolate
Writers: Robert Mark Kamen, Mark Miller and Harvey Wietzman (thanks to imdb.com for writing credits)
I’m merely pointing out that writers and the director are all men. I’m just saying…
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