Hayden Kane
There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes
Rio Hayward
All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
Caryl
It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.
Jesse Boland
Solid documentary showing both the highs, and the lows of the impact a China can have on any industry, as the moods of their people shift from one object of status to another. Very fair to both sides, and this movie kept the dialog clear, and open. There are some amazing interviews that really show how much China has opened up to so many new things. We are shown very nicely how the people have come from such oppression to this relative freedom, and new levels of power, that are similar to what other countries have been through during most of the last half of the 20th century, though on a much grander scale. Slow at times, I did Enjoy the over all tale, and the lessons being taught are not heavy handed or really all that surprising. I recommend this to wine people, and world travelers alike, but there is much to be enjoyed by the average person as you get to see some sights from all over the world set in beautiful time lapsed film work. All I say is just wait till India joins the games.
Jeff Cutler
You might think the movie is about wine but it's not. It's about the transformation of China and it uses the dusty old traditional wineries of France to highlight just what is going on. The Chinese became obsessed with fine vintage wines, in particular the Rothchild Lafite Bordeaux wines. You don't have to be a wine lover to enjoy the movie. The one quote I will always remember, that the Chinese have endured the cultural revolution which is like going to hell and coming back alive. They have endured living like peasants for decades and now that they are not, they want to live it up like a sir. The picture of China that is presented in the film is one that is super modern, trendy, and really fast paced. Money is everywhere. But this is a double edged sword, as you will find out in the movie. They could have swapped Lafite for BMW's or iPhones, but the Lafite is an excellent symbol of fine old stuffy European tradition coming head on to the Chinese economic juggernaut. This movies picks a single story to convey the seismic shift in economic pull that has happened in the last decade.
dr-damien-wilson
I'm a wine person. I have consumed, studied, taught and debated the topic for almost 30 years now. I love the stuff. But... watching this film reminded me how wound up we wine-people are in our own world. Although I found the documentary interesting and important to know, I also recognise that this film grossed less than US$10,000- at the box office. Now, I don't know what the budget was to make this film, but who in their right mind thought that this would be a good idea for a theatrical release? I'm guessing that enough people got together and convinced themselves that this would work. And secured enough funding from (almost surely) a wealthy wine-lover. No rational film producer would ever have looked at the script and gone 'Yeah, images of French châteaux, and celebrities in the wine field will be a huge hit! Let's get Rusty to narrate and we've got it made!!!' If you're just starting to develop an interest in wine, this should be mandatory watching. Enthusiasts already know most of the content, and will probably bemoan the lack of further detail. But if wine isn't your thing, you'll really wish you'd spent the 75 minutes on another film.
Tim Meade
This is an Australian-produced doco, looking at the history of wines from Bordeaux.It is 75 minutes long.After 75 minutes, I was aware that they have been making wines in Bordeaux since the Romans brought the vines; that Napoleon III had the wines graded in 1855 and the grades given remain to this day; that conditions come together for a great vintage about every 20 years; that wine is bought as an investment; that Americans have stopped buying it but the Chinese now do; that some French are sniffily xenophobic about dealing with the Chinese and that if the Chinese ever stop buying, the market may collapse.Those facts took 75 minutes to explain. 75 very long minutes.Some nice aerial photography. And looking at beautifully designed and constructed French chateaux is always easy on the eye.The film had a nice, laconic commentary from Russell Crowe whose smoky, tobacco-enhanced voice fitted the subject well.But it was all just too superficial, too under-researched with not enough of interest to fill the film's time span. Some more history would have been welcome; the Great French Wine Blight of the late 1850s post-dated Napoleon III's gradings – didn't the blight make them obsolete? This question wasn't addressed but would seem fundamental to an evaluation of Bordeaux. Still, I'm sure had I gone to France's bucolic beauty spots to research such a film, I too would have been so distracted drinking the stuff I'd have forgotten the reason for the visit.
