This lovely, 1991 adaptation of Elizabeth Von Arnim's novel has a superb cast and a tone so mellow you can feel your pulse get slower. Josie Lawrence and Miranda Richardson play a pair of unhappily married women who rent an Italian villa for a month, sharing the rent with a crusty Englishwoman (Joan Plowright) and a lonely aristocrat (Polly Walker). Sun, rest, sinking into the green grass for long naps--they all have a soulful effect on the quartet, and then on the men in their lives who make a surprise visit. Mike Newell (Into the West) directs with seeming effortlessness, and it is impossible not to be swayed by the promise of restoration for these burdened characters--or for anyone alive. Wonderful performances all around, including a particularly sensitive one by Alfred Molina and a very funny one by Jim Broadbent. --Tom Keogh
Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating: Summary: Beautiful! Comment: A beautiful film about the power of love to transform people. This is one of the best movies ever made and I cannot for the life of me understand why it is not available on DVD in the U.S. Customer Rating: Summary: Thanks for the tip! Comment: Enchanted April [Region 2]
Thanks to the blog, I purchased my DVD from Joesclassicmovies.com. Otherwise I would still be waiting to Paramount or whomever to release it! My DVD works just fine and it was lovely to see the film again after it's initial release. Thank you all! Customer Rating: Summary: IT'S A FILM I CAN WATCH OVER AND OVER Comment: I wasn't sure if I should give this film five stars in terms of how it stands against, say, CITIZEN KANE or LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, but after reading many of the other reviews here, I think I should. I can watch my (VHS) video of it over and over - the reasons why have mostly been said by others.
I just wanted to add that, if you have an all-region DVD player and can't wait until it's FINALLY released here, there is a Hong Kong release available at Asian DVD sites, like yesasia. Perhaps Amazon could get this one, review its quality, and offer it themselves?
Customer Rating: Summary: Good News, DVD To Be Released Soon! Comment: Many thanks to another review that provided a contact name and email address. I sent an email to Stuart Snaith many weeks ago, and just received a reply today (18 July 2008) from Liz Hammond. Liz said the problems over film rights have been resolved and the Enchanted April DVD is due to be released as soon as December 2008 or possibly as late as Spring 2009. I trust our long wait is coming to a close. Customer Rating: Summary: Enchantment at Your Fingertips Comment: Wonderful performances by Michael Kitchen and Joan Plowright but Josie Lawrence steals the show. I watch this whenever I'm blue and am so happy to own it. It's an intelligent, believable adult fairy tale. The camera work is beyond excellent and the music is superb even as it is unobtrusive. Best of all, it's the opposite of Hollywood. That means no cookie cutter beauties, no slick easy answers, no pasting over awkward moments by incompetent writers with tired pop tunes. This is the real deal folks: a work of art (with humor).
