ScreenFish

where faith and film are intertwined

Wine

Vas-y Coupe! (Wine Crush) – The People Behind Wine

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What goes into a bottle of Champagne? Easy answer: grapes. But how do they get there? Laura Naylor’s documentary Vas-y Coupe! (English title: Wine Crush) is a very pleasant atmospheric look at the harvest at one of Champagne’s premier vineyards. The film really isn’t so much about wine or agriculture. It is about people.

Much of the film is spent with the harvesters, a group of men who travel to the vineyard each year for the harvest. These are working class men, who have left their families for this bit of work. Two of them have been coming for over 30 years. The workers stay in a sparse dormitory, four in a room. But we may be surprised at the quality of the dinners they are provided each evening. A good part of the film involves the kitchen where women are preparing the daily meals. There is surely a comradery among the harvesters, but that also extends to their relationship with the bosses. There are differences in class, age, and gender, but they all share a common humanity as they each do their labor, whether picking, cooking, or winemaking.

There is very little of an instructive nature in the film. We only hear in passing what kind of grapes these are. We see them being fed into a crusher, and later into barrels. But we are told next to nothing about what goes on in all these steps. Rather, we are immersed in the time and place. Wonderful cinematography shows us great vistas of vineyards, as well as the closeup work being done.

The culmination of all this labor turns out to be one of the worst harvests in recent memory. Many of the grapes rotted on the vines. Yet at the closing dinner, the winemaker celebrates the work that they have all done together. No one person, he tells them, can do everything themselves. We all need each other in various ways.

I find in interesting that the French title (which translates as “Go Cut!”) uses the French familiar you. That, I think, reflects this recognition that each person has a place in this endeavor. The harvesters, of lower economic class, are seen as just as valuable to what is happening as the winemaker and his family. All are in this together, even though some are working for short-term wages and others are invested in a long-term project. They are all related by a common task and a common humanity.

Vas-y Coupe! is currently playing at the virtual Newport Beach Film Festival and will be available on VOD October 8.

Photos courtesy of First Run Features.

From the Vine: Replanting Our Lives, Replenishing Our Souls

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From The Vine tells the story of downtrodden CEO Marco Gentile (Joe Pantoliano), a man experiencing a moral crisis. Burned out and broken, Marco finds himself lost in a sea of corporate nonsense and he quits his job on a whim. Despite the protests of his wife, Marina (Wendy Crewson), Marco then decides to uproot his life and return to his grandfather’s old vineyard in Italy to re-calibrate his moral compass. As he reconnects with his heritage, Marco’s venture offers the surrounding town of Acerenza a sustainable future that may also signal a fresh start for his family as well.

Directed by Sean Cisterna (Kiss and Cry), From the Vine is a heart-warming film that lovingly speaks to what it means to find new life. By juxtaposing stunning Italian landscapes and charming villages with the corporate world of Toronto, the film’s serve as a testament to ‘old world’ charm. While Pantoliano does a good job engaging the material, it’s Crewson that feels like the true star of the film. Bringing heart and warmth to the role, the always endearing Crewson is simply delightful in every scene and draws in the viewer with her journey towards potential new life.

Though the film takes a slower narrative pace, Vine comes together like a beautiful piece of art as it progresses. Like a good wine, the film becomes full bodied over time, for those willing to have the patience to wait. Blending Italian neorealism with magic realism, the film is an interesting mix of mythical whimsy and sweet reality that speaks to the value of maintaining ‘the old ways’. Admittedly, this particular blending of styles can feel oddly jarring at times. (Any film that attempts to be grounded yet features talking grapevines and visitations of deceased relatives is bound to feel at least a little unique in places.) Even so, From the Vine’s charm and warmth eventually grows on the viewer. 

Although his family feels that he’s having a mid-life crisis, Marco argues that what he’s experiencing is more meaningful than that. A workaholic for most of his life, Marco begins as a man who is utterly disconnected from his wife, daughter and his own soul. As a result, the decision to return to his Grandfather’s vineyard stems from a quest to reconnect with his roots. Like the (almost) abandoned vineyard his discovers on his return, Marco’s soul is broken down and has been almost abandoned due to lack of care. 

However, as he grows more deeply involved with the community and vineyard, Marco begins to rediscover a sense of purpose. As he slows down, learns patience and invests in the lives of others, Marco’s world is reframed as he finds life amidst the rubble of his soul. For example, when his wife challenges him to return to their lives back home, he responds with the poignant, “We don’t have lives there. We have jobs.” For Marco, hope and new life springs up from slowing down and starting over and his great hope is that his family will experience the same inner refreshing as well.

Even though the pacing of the film may be slower than one might expect, Vine is a venture worth taking. As a matter of fact, the film’s pacing proves to be precisely the point. As he learns to care for his heart as opposed to nurturing his addiction to the corporate world, Marco’s journey to inner healing and newness proves to be a soul-pleasing experience. As a result, like the wine they create, From the Vine is a film that is sweet to taste.

For audio of our interview with director Sean Cisterna, click here.

From the Vine premieres on VOD on July 10th, 2020.

The Mystery of Wine: 1on1 with John Meyer (THE MAGICAL MYSTERY OF MUSIGNY)

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Winner of the award for Best Story from the Los Angeles Animation Film Festival, The Magical Mystery of Musigny is a short film that tells the story of John, a man whose life has been irrevocably altered by sipping a glass of Musigny wine. However, because his experience is so powerful, he struggles to communicate its meaning to his wife, causing drama between the two spouses. When asked where he got the idea for the story, director John Meyer says his inspiration came from his own personal experience.

“It was an epiphany that I had thirty years ago when I drank this extraordinary wine called Musigny,” he begins. “The minute I took a sip of this extraordinary wine, I was transported in my imagination all the way to Russia and the Don River—a river I’d never seen and a country I’d never visited—but there I was with the moon shining reflected off its surface and the onion spires of the Russian cathedrals across the river. It was extraordinary and it lasted about thirty seconds. All of a sudden, it vanished and I was back at the table, quite dazed and dazzled. When I got home and I told my wife about it, she said, “Oh, you were just drunk.” It took me about five years to convince her and, as you saw at the end of the video, she finally had an epiphany of her own.”

Though profoundly affected by the moment, it wasn’t until Meyer responded to an ad in a wine magazine that the story for Magical Mystery began to come together. Once he recorded his experience and found his kindred spirit in animator Emmett Goldman, he knew it was time to bring his journey to life onscreen.

“This all started as a response to an ad in the wine spectator for a story about wine,” he recalls. “The Wine Spectator, which is a magazine concentrating on wine, asked for your most thrilling experience and I wrote it up. [After] they accepted it, I said, “Let’s make an animated video out of it.” I found [animator] Emmett [Goodman] through a mutual friend and he just went to town. I managed to document the experience in a humorous fashion… He was able to just take a look at me and capture my kind of owlish balding appearance and he presents this little quest to convince my wife of the validity of the experience. It comes out very amusing… Now we’re going to do another three or four of them and make an anthology film of animated stories…”

From the outset, Meyer knew that animation was the manner through which he wanted his story to be told. With its variety of style and character, Meyer believes that there are similarities between animation and wine and carry over well onscreen.

“Animation certainly has its own character—as does wine—and when you marry them in a comic way, then you get our video, The Magical Mystery of Musigny,” he explains. “Pinocchio, I think is the ultimate expression of animation, at least during the Great Disney period. I think many animators have learned many of the lessons that Pinocchio has to teach, such as close ups of faces and all kinds of stylistic tropes. They each have their own character, of course, animation and wine.”

Although it may be difficult for one who hasn’t partaken of this particular vintage of wine to comprehend, Meyers speaks about his experience in such profound terms as to suggest that it has affected the deepest areas of his soul.

“It really is life changing because, from then on, your view is filtered through the experience,” he blows. “Every interaction is colored by the fact that there’s another dimension to your life that you’ve experienced a glimpse of. It’s really quite extraordinary. Now, every time I approach a wine, I wonder to myself if something similar going to happen. Of course, it never does. It may be peculiar to this particular vintage, to this particular wine called Musigny. It was very expensive. I was invited to this tasting. I could never afforded it by myself. Tickets to it was something like $1,500 a seat, you know?”

“But I was lucky to find an animator who shared my particular comic vision. It’s a vision I developed with Paul Bartel. He wrote and directed a comedy called Eating Raoul. He and I developed a method of storytelling that I call Cartoon Noir, which is funny and suspenseful both at once. Kind of a satiric version of Alfred Hitchcock, if you will… That’s what I used in doingThe Magical Mystery of Musigny.”

One of the more unusual aspects of the promotional campaign for the short is its tagline, “A comic look at obsession.’ Although the term ‘obsession’ may seem strong, Meyer insists that the word is used in a humorous tone to depict his journey to repeat his experience.

“This experience was undeniable and, by ‘obsession’, I mean that I keep looking for the similar reprise of the experience, which [I’ve never found]. So, it must be unique to this particular wine or maybe it remains in the future somewhere. That’s what obsession means and it’s an amusing way of expressing it.”

Interestingly, wine tasting is a cultural phenomenon that we have rarely seen depicted onscreen. Other than 2004’sSideways, few films have attempted to explain the complexity of a culinary pastime that is also viewed as one of the highest forms of art. Asked why he believes wine tasting is viewed in this manner, Meyer immediately perks up at the chance to explain the intricacies of his passion.

“Well, when you drink a wine of a certain level, you experience complexity because the wine approaches your tongue with layers,” he beams. “The initial burst of pleasure is then superseded by all these layers of flavors and you can taste things like pencil lead, cigar box aroma in addition to the array of fruits and flowers that a particular wine will present. You’ll have to get to a certain level of wine to experience this complexity but, when you do get there, it’s like reading a novel with all the various characters interacting. It’s more than you could experience. All of a sudden, you’ve drank two thirds of a bottle and you haven’t written down even half of your impressions. I hope that can help turn the folks listening onto investigating wines. Mainly, my experience has been that the French wines present this complexity, but you could also get it in Italian and Spanish wines. In fact, if anybody wants to write me, I can recommend some of the wines.”

 

Those interested in receiving advice from Meyer about wine-tasting or his work can receive his contact information through our email at screenfishonline@gmail.com.

To hear full audio of our conversation with John Meyer, click here.

The Magical Mystery of Musigny is touring festivals now.

 

The Magical Mystery of Musigny: Mysterious Community

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Winner of the award for Best Story from the Los Angeles Animation Film Festival, The Magical Mystery of Musigny is a short film that tells the story of John, a man whose life has been irrevocably altered by sipping a glass of Musigny wine. However, because his experience is so powerful, he struggles to communicate its meaning to his wife, causing drama between the two spouses.

Directed by John Meyer (of whom the story is based on his own life experience) and animated by Emmett Goodman, Musigny is beautifully designed in a way that is reminiscent of the classic style of Al Hirschfeld. Very few films attempt to cover the complex art that is wine-tasting but, in a few short minutes, Musigny seems to capture its intricacies and expressions.

Though only three minutes in length, Musigny speaks to the beauty that can be found in the smallest aspects of life. For John, the experience of this particular wine is overwhelming in its complexity and magnificence. For him, the slightest taste from his glass becomes a transcendent experience, transporting him emotionally and spiritually to another place. As such, the simple pleasure of the moment becomes something much more profound.

Of course, John’s greatest struggle is attempting to explain the experience to his wife who believes that he simply drank too much. Similar to the challenges of attempting to explain one’s spiritual experience of faith, there is a divide that takes place between those that have reached out to the Divine and those that haven’t. How can one fully explain what it means to have their life changed when the other person remains unaffected? This is the very sort of divide that’s taking place between John and his wife… until she has the experience herself. Once she has partaken of the wine for herself, her eyes are opened and she understands what her husband has been trying to explain to her. At once, the mystery of Musigny is revealed and she is changed. There is a celebration that can finally be shared amongst them. In this moment, the film speaks to the nature of community based common experience. Even though John and his wife are affected differently by the wine, the very fact that they have both had an experience with it breaks down the barriers of communication. Despite their differences, their commonality takes priority, reviving their relationship and drawing them together. The beauty of the moment becomes overwhelming for both of them and they are united once again.

In the end, The Magical Mystery of Musigny is an entertaining piece that points to the power of small moments. Through the intricacies of wine, the film serves as a metaphor for the importance of shared experiences as the heart of community.

 

To hear full audio of our conversation with director John Meyer, click here.

Back to Burgundy – Finding Family Again

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“When I was little, every morning I’d look out the window, and I’d think, ‘Every morning it changes.’

“Yeah, when I was a kid I thought every day was different, and it would always be like that. It would always keep changing. But then I realized that, here, nothing ever changes.”

The dynamic of change and lack of change is explored in the family drama Back to Burgundy (French title: Ce Qui Nous Lie, ‘What Binds Us”). It is the story of the reunion of three siblings on their family’s vineyard. There is much that is the same as it has always been, but also much that changes day by day.

Oldest son Jean (Pio Marmaï), whose thoughts open this review, left home years ago to see the world. When he learns his father is dying, he returns home when his sister Juliette (Ana Girardot) now runs their vineyards. Their brother Jérémie (Françoise Civil) has married into one of the premiere winemaking families in the area. Naturally, this is a time of both joy and turmoil. There is love between these people, but there are also resentments that have grown through the years of Jean’s absence.

After their father’s death the three must figure out what to do with the family’s estate, given the large tax bill they are facing. As they work together through the year-round vineyard activities, they must negotiate not only the business aspects, but more importantly their relationships must go through much of the same kinds of changes that the vineyards face.

The film makes great use of the Burgundy countryside and the various aspects of winemaking. We see the vineyards through various seasons. We watch as the siblings taste grapes and debate which day will be the best for harvest, and later what grapes to combine into the wine. But all this visual celebration of wine also serves as a metaphor of the relationship the siblings must reestablish. As the film says at one point, “Love is like wine. It needs time. It needs to ferment.”

As the three siblings (and later Jean’s wife and son) interact, they slowly come to find peace with both their pasts and the present. For that to happen, they must recognize the parts of themselves and their relationships that are immutable, and also to discover the newness that can come each day—just as Jean noticed as a child looking out his window.

Photos courtesy of Music Box Films

Origins Ep. 2: Take Your Medicine

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(photo credit: National Geographic)

“Humanity is cursed by the knowledge of our own mortality,” narrator Jason Silva notes during the second episode of Origins (NatGeo, 9 PM/8 CT Monday).  It’s sobering to know that life will eventually end at some point—probably in a painful manner. But in the 21st century, we should be incredibly thankful that science has helped people avoid cheating death—at least for a little while. Up until a century ago, a bite from a mosquito or getting the common cold could cause a person to die.  And this says nothing about infected wounds or even certain mental disorders.  Instead, the advent of medicine has helped to bring about longer, more fruitful lives.

But what can we trace the rise in medicinal science to? How has medicine helped make us modern? Silva takes the viewer on a journey through the past, starting with older generations who used whatever they could from the earth to gain relief from an affliction.  When something was found to work (bark, berries, or something else), the word spread and people began to see an increase in their life spans.  But it wasn’t until 160 AD that the genesis of today’s medicine was found—in the form of Greek doctor Galen of Pergamon (below), who helped take care of wounded gladiatorial combatants using unconventional techniques for the time, such as cauterizing a wound to help it heal.  The temples of healing in Greece led to many of the priests becoming doctors.

 (photo credit: National Geographic)

That was a good start, but people still got sick, and diseases such as the plague threatened to kill entire countries.  Nostradamus (16th century France) is mentioned here—not for his prognostications, but indirectly bringing the concept of sanitation to the forefront of people’s minds by having people boil water and bury their dead instead of keeping them inside their residences.  Robert Koch would later do research on bacteria that would lead to the germ theory of disease, prompting medicines and vaccinations to help heal and protect people from the things they couldn’t see that could kill them. As a result, people of today are living significantly longer lives than their predecessors.  It could get even better, as genetics companies are working on personalized medicines that use a person’s DNA for healing.

I found this particular episode of Origins to be incredibly fascinating.  Too often, we take pain for granted, like Jonas did in the book The Giver.  Two tablets cause a headache to disappear.  A little ointment on an infected cut and it heals with no noticeable scar.  Chemotherapy may cause a patient to lose his/her hair, but can prolong their life by killing cancer cells.  To say we would be in a world of hurt without medicine is not hyperbole.

Yet with all the progress science has make in keeping people healthy and well, it still hasn’t discovered the elixir to eternal life.  Physical death still is an absolute.

Back in biblical times, the Roman soldiers knew wine mixed with gall served to deaden pain for those who were being crucified.  They offered it to Jesus (see Matthew 27:34), but he refused to drink it.  Instead, he died a horrifically painful physical death—but returned to life three days later, ready to grant eternal life for those who call upon his name (see Acts 10:43).  Jesus doesn’t remove physical death (even with the medical discoveries that prolong life), but gives the people he died for hope and courage to face it.

Of course, it’s very important to take medicine and see the doctor when you’re sick—and we should be incredibly thankful for people like Galen, Koch, and even Nostradamus.  Taking in the second episode of Origins can help remind us that things could be significantly worse without medicine.  In fact, it should help us appreciate every breath we breathe a little bit more.