The Vintner's Luck (2009)

Director:

Niki Caro

Writers:

Niki Caro (writer)
Joan Scheckel (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

12 November 2009 (New Zealand)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Romance

Plot:

In 19th century France, a peasant winemaker endeavors to create the perfect vintage. |

Plot Keywords:

Peasant | France | 19th Century | Cancer | Wine

Cast

Jérémie Renier	...	Sobran Jodeau
Keisha Castle-Hughes	...	Celeste
Vania Vilers	...	Jodeau Senior
Eric Godon	...	Father Lesy
Patrice Valota	...	Comte de Vully
François Beukelaers	...	Chief Winemaker
Gaspard Ulliel	...	The Vintner's Luck
Stephane Garneau	...	Young Soldier
Juliette Mariotte	...	Baby Sabine
Finn Van Mell	...	Baby Nicolette
Charlotte Cheveau	...	Sabine - 2-3 Years
Felicity-Amore Castle-Hughes	...	Nicolette - 12-18 Months
Julie Berthoux	...	Sabine - 4-5 Years
Vera Farmiga	...	Aurora de Valday
Jean-Louis Sbille	...	Henri
Eloise Despres	...	Nicolette - Sick - 12-18 Months
Hans Ropiteau	...	Baby Baptiste
Matthias Javos	...	Baptiste - Toddler
Marion Parisot Larose	...	Sabine - 7-10 Years
Pierre Doret	...	Baptiste - 3-5 Years
Pascal Judelewicz	...	Aurora's Lawyer
Lizzie Brocheré	...	Sabine
Arthur Raillard	...	Antoine - 9-10 Years
Tarik Vaccaro	...	Baptiste - 13-15 Years
Bernard Jarillot	...	Surgeon
Quentin Guillemin	...	Didier de Thierry
Clement Coquille	...	Antoine - 15-17 Years
Kaj Benson	...	Baptiste - 19-21 Years

Directed by
Niki Caro

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Niki Caro		writer
Elizabeth Knox		novel
Joan Scheckel		writer

Produced by
Chica Benadava	....	executive producer
Ludi Boeken	....	producer
Jeremy Burdek	....	executive producer
Niki Caro	....	producer
Masaharu Inaba	....	executive producer
Pascal Judelewicz	....	producer
Nadia Khamlichi	....	executive producer
Jean François Klein	....	executive producer
Robin Laing	....	producer
Nicola Olsen	....	line producer
Laurie Parker	....	producer
Adrian Politowski	....	executive producer
Claës Wachtmeister	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Antonio Pinto

Cinematography by
Denis Lenoir

Film Editing by
David Coulson

Casting by
Mark Bennett
Elaine Grainger

Production Design by
Grant Major

Art Direction by
Marc Flouquet

Set Decoration by
Frédéric Delrue

Costume Design by
Justin Buckingham
Harry Harrison

Makeup Department
Corinne Bossu	....	makeup artist: dailies
Magalie Dumas	....	additional makeup artist
Aurélie Elich	....	hair stylist
Aurélie Elich	....	makeup artist
Emmanuelle Gendrot	....	makeup artist
Irène Jordi	....	additional hair stylist: crowd
Irène Jordi	....	additional makeup artist: crowd
Denise Kum	....	hair designer
Denise Kum	....	makeup designer
Anne Moralis	....	key makeup artist
Anne Moralis	....	wig maker
Emma Peters	....	makeup artist: New Zealand

Production Management
Charles Besnard	....	assistant production manager
Julien Brun	....	assistant unit manager
Jean-Yves Dupuis	....	production manager: Belgium
Shara Hudson	....	post-production supervisor
Olivier Lagny	....	unit manager: Niki CARO
Nicolas Royer	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Michaël de Nijs	....	second assistant director
Bruno Du Bois	....	second assistant director
Delphine Dupont	....	second assistant director
Liz Tan	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Sébastien Autphenne	....	swing gang
Bruno Bon	....	ripper
Karine Branco	....	first assistant greens
Regine Constant	....	executive production designer
Laurie Crochelet	....	painter
Valérie Dodeigne	....	painter
Kate Highfield	....	art department manager
Henry Hole	....	greens
Dan King	....	lead greensman
Jean-Marc Liben-Steyns	....	painter
Pascaline Pitiot	....	green master
Alberto Sebastiani	....	scenic artist
Aran Sisley	....	art department runner
Chantal Talbot	....	painter

Sound Department
Stefan Brough	....	sound designer
Jonathan Bruce	....	sound editor
Chris Burt	....	sound designer
Chris Burt	....	supervising sound editor
Oscar Burt-Shearer	....	foley artist
Scott Donald	....	adr supervisor
Buster Flaws	....	mix assistant
Benoît Hardonniere	....	boom operator: New Zealand unit
Michael Hedges	....	sound re-recording mixer
Gilbert Lake	....	sound re-recording mixer
Miriam Ludbrook	....	dialogue editor
Ken Saville	....	sound recordist
Dominique Warnier	....	sound engineer
Dominique Warnier	....	sound recordist
Mathieu Weber	....	boom operator

Special Effects by
Jason Durey	....	special effects supervisor
Harry Harrison	....	mechanical effects supervisor
Giuliano Peparini	....	flying rig supervisor

Visual Effects by
Dan Ashton	....	scanning and recording technician
Nick Booth	....	scanning and recording supervisor
Meetal Gokul	....	DI editor
Marko Los	....	visual effects artist
Carol Petrie	....	visual effects coordinator
George Port	....	visual effects supervisor
George Ritchie	....	visual effects producer: prpvfx.ltd
Stephen Roucher	....	scanning and recording technician
Stephanie Jean Staunton	....	digital compositor
Jon Thorsen	....	camera td
Pania Williams	....	visual effects artist
Pete Williams	....	scanning and recording manager

Camera and Electrical Department
Pierre Dejon	....	third assistant camera
Clement Gharini	....	camera operator: flying camera
Denis Lenoir	....	camera operator
Arnaud Marchand St. Martin de Veyran	....	additional lighting assistant: New Zealand
Todd Nevill	....	grip
Jérôme Prébois	....	still photographer
Olivier Servais	....	assistant camera
Geoffrey Short	....	still photographer: New Zealand shoot
Sébastien Tran	....	cinematographer: inserts
Sébastien Tran	....	second assistant camera
Thierry Van Laere	....	key grip

Casting Department
Sylvie Brocheré	....	casting
Patrick Hella	....	casting
Morgane Peron	....	extras casting assistant
Alexandra Weyers	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
François-Louis Delfolie	....	costumer
Hilary Niederer	....	costume supervisor: New Zealand
James Rogers	....	chief costume dyer/ager
Katalin Ujvari	....	principal dresser
Claudia Watson	....	costume dyer

Editorial Department
Carl Ayala	....	digital intermediate artist
Clare Burlinson	....	digital intermediate colorist
Julian Currin	....	assistant editor
Katie Hinsen	....	digital intermediate assistant
Sandro Lavezzi	....	assistant editor
Shanon Moratti	....	digital intermediate editor

Music Department
John Kurlander	....	score mixer
Caco Villares Law	....	music recordist/engineer
Plan 9	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Gaby Meyers	....	facility/truck driver

Other crew
Segolene Amice	....	production coordinator
Emmanuelle Balestrieri	....	production controller
Catherine Charlton	....	dialect coach
Sophie Cherry	....	assistant to producer: new zealand unit
Clifford De Spenser	....	dialogue coach: Jeremie Renier
Michel Degrange	....	location manager
David Faivre	....	animal coordinator
Émilie Frigola-Salelles	....	production assistant
Linda Gamble	....	unit publicist
Frédéric Greene	....	additional accountant
Fionn Groeger	....	assistant: Mr Renier
Pierre Philippe Hendrickx	....	legal advisor: Belgium
Iwona Sellers	....	production executive
Neil W. Smith	....	high definiton screening supervisor: Hollywood-DI
Claire Thoreux	....	assistant production accountant
Gilles Waterkeyn	....	production executive

Production Companies

• New Zealand Film Commission (presents)
• New Zealand Film Production Fund (presents) (as New Zealand Film Production Fund Trust)
• Ascension Films
• Kortex Cinema
• Acajou Films
• Motion Investment Group (in association with)
• OLC / Rights Entertainment (in association with)
• Birka Holding (in association with)
• Commission du Film de Bourgogne (in association with) (as Burgundy Film Commission)
• Les Films 2 Cinema (in association with)
• New Zealand On Air (in association with) (as NZ On Air)
• uFilm (uncredited)

Distributors

• Acajou Films (2012) (France) (theatrical)
• Ascot Elite Entertainment Group (2009) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Panorama Entertainment (2011) (USA) (theatrical)
• Capelight Pictures (2012) (Germany) (all media)
• Hoyts Distribution (2009) (New Zealand) (all media)
• Icon Film Distribution (2010) (Australia) (all media)
• New Zealand Film Commission (2009) (worldwide) (all media)
• Panorama Entertainment (2011) (USA) (all media)
• Screen Media Films (2012) (USA) (all media)
• Tohokushinsha Film (2010) (Japan) (all media)

Other Companies

• Film Finances  completion guarantor
• Hollywood-DI  HD Screening Services
• Kortex Cinema  funding
• Le Vestiaire  costumes
• Location Consulting & Facilities  facility vehicles
• New Zealand Film Production Fund  funding
• OLC / Rights Entertainment  funding
• Park Road Post  post-production facilities
• Studio West  studio facility
• uFund  funding

Also Known As:

"A Heavenly Vintage" - USA (imdb display title)
"La veine du vigneron" - France (festival title)
"Der Engel mit den dunklen Flügeln" - Germany (DVD title)

MPAA:

Rated R for some sexuality and nudity

Runtime:

Germany:120 min (European Film Market)

Country:

France | New Zealand

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Certification:

New Zealand:M | Australia:M | Japan:PG12 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Auckland, New Zealand

Company:

New Zealand Film Commission

Strong wine for developed palettes. This is one vintage you will not want to miss

Disclaimer: I have not read the Elizabeth Knox book Nikki Caro's film The Vintner's Luck is based on so can not make a comparison - which given that films are not books, might be a good thing. Films are creations with their own forces. Nikki Caro did not engage in the arduous process of making a film simply to channel Knox or to realize Knox on screen. She is here to create her own vision. This is what all artists do.

It is rather ironic that at the same time Vintner's Luck is undergoing a national reaming in New Zealand we are also attacking Witi Ihimaera's so-called plagiarism. And yet when Nikki Caro dares to bring her own vision to the screen she is lambasted for not plagiarizing enough.

Her film is layered and complex as any story of a relationship between an angel and a man would be, even more so as the film is grappling with bigger issues of morality and mortality.

If Nikki is guilty of anything it is her attempt to make the Knox novel comprehensible and accessible to a wide audience. To cynics like me who find the idea of fleshy angels simply silly, the film balances that feathery conundrum perfectly. Especially as it seems that all the criticism revolves around this one thing – the intangible and problematic issue of man and angels. It's a relationship portrayed in art from earliest times. And it's intensely personal; especially for Knox fans - who it seems - will be satisfied by nothing less than full-on feather sex. Is it the thwarting of their inner voyeurs that has unleashed this storm? In fact by not staying too close to the Knox book, by in some ways separating the angel and the man and allowing the man to form an (albeit conflicted) bond with an earth bound woman the angelic relationship becomes more believable, more symbolic of our human struggle with desire. And that's something I can understand: after all, are we not all in lifelong relationships with our angels as we grapple with the sensual, the sacred and the profane in search of our perfect vintage? Don't be put of by the jaundiced reviews in New Zealand: Vintner's Luck, the movie, is strong wine for developed palettes. This is one vintage you will not want to miss, whether or not you believe in angels. Sumner Burstyn, NZ, [e-mail]