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Ways of Wine (The) AKA El camino del vino
R2 - United Kingdom - Simply Media Review written by and copyright: Matthew Crossman (8th February 2016). |
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The Film
 Renowned sommelier and wine expert Charlie Arturaola is attending a wine festival when one night he goes to bed and awakens in the morning to find that his ability to smell and taste wine has disappeared. Charlie has to cancel a wine tasting that people all over the World had gathered at, much to the dismay of his Wife, Pandora. Distraught at this turn of events Charlie attends the hospital where he undergoes a CAT scan. Unfortunately the CAT scan does not reveal any anomalies and therefore nothing the Doctor’s can fix. Charlie then travels to the vineyard of renowned wine maker Michel Rolland who, upon hearing about Charlie’s predicament, proclaims that Charlie must go back to the vineyard, especially those of Mendoza. Only then, once he has tasted the finest wines that region has to offer, may he get his sense of taste and smell back. The only problem with this plan is convincing the vineyard owners and wine makers of Mendoza to let him try their famous wines. Charlie comes up with a plan, a little white lie, as he puts it, to explain to the winemakers that he intends to have a unique wine festival and that he wants their wine to be featured. Once there he meets with vineyard owner Susana Balbo who expresses her distaste of sommelier’s that spend their time talking about wine without really knowing about it. She tells Charlie that she will consider his proposal but only once he has worked in the vineyard and got to know the wine from the first moment of production until the last. Charlie takes to the vineyard and starts to learn about the backbreaking process of tending for the vines and the grapes that grow upon them. Later that evening, after Charlie has spent the entire day working in the vineyard, he is rewarded with the taste of the wine he coverts. Unfortunately the plan has not worked and Charlie still cannot taste the wine. Charlie then travels to another vineyard and learns, by accident, about making wines through organic methods that have been practised for many, many years. Once again Charlie learns something new about the process of winemaking but still his palate is unaffected. Charlie, on the advice of a friend, then changes tact. Perhaps he needs to taste cellared wine, some of the finest and old wines of the region. Of course this poses a problem for Charlie in that these are also very expensive and no one will let him taste for free. Charlie visits one of the finest cellars in the region and when left alone in the cellar he opens, without permission, a rare bottle of wine from 1936. He is caught in the act though by the president of the cellar and admonished. Charlie starts to realise, with the help of friends and people that he meets on his travels, that perhaps his lacking palate is more psychological rather than medical and his journey takes a different turn as he starts to think about why wine defines him and how his upbringing, his family, and the place he originally called home had such an impact on his life and now Charlie starts to realise that his journey must be about reconnecting with this past part of his life if he is to get back his senses of smell and taste. ‘The Ways of Wine’ is an unusual film in that all it’s participants play their real life selves within a fictional plot. The plot device about Charlie losing his palate is there simply so Charlie can educate the viewer about the winemaking process but this story is not simply about the nuts and bolts of the procedure. Whilst Charlie is featured in every scene of the film ‘Ways of Wine’ is really about the people who make the wine, their love of the land and passion for the plants and soil that are at the heart of winemaking. The film is presented in a quasi-documentary style with much of the movie filmed on hand held cameras as Charlie tours the vineyards. But as much as the film is about wine it’s also about family and reconnecting. It’s a clever way of presenting the idea as a film solely based on the wine making process may have been a tad dry. Charlie is an affable character and there are moments of comedy smattered about the movie (the best part being as Charlie sits around the table with a large family in a vineyard as they enjoy a meal, bottles of wine being poured all around, and Charlie stunning all of those gathered by surreptitiously asking for a glass of beer.) which keep the film just the right side of entertaining without being staid. The fictional parts of the film feel a little forced at times and it’s the unscripted moments that work best. I probably should not have watched the movie at ten O’ clock in the morning as if you fancy a drop of claret from time to time ‘Ways of Wine’ will definitely have you reaching for a bottle.
Video
‘The Ways of Wine’ is presented in it’s original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 (anamorphic). The picture quality is acceptable with the colour scheme being somewhat bleached and, occasionally, dusty and I’m of the mind that this is what the filmmakers wanted as it suit’s the images of sun drenched, dusty vineyards perfectly. There are one or two scenes when it appears that the image was filmed through a thin gauze but these are few and far between and not too distracting. The contrast seems to be a little off as under bright sunlight anything white on the image loses most of it’s definition but as this is a movie that was filmed with the majority of shots in either medium or close up again this is not a deal breaker.
Audio
The soundtrack is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. The film was shot with a mixed soundtrack of English and mostly Spanish. Subtitles are provided and can be switched off. The Spanish portions of the film have subtitles, the English parts do not, and the subtitles are for dialogue only. At the very beginning of the film there are portions, restaurant scenes mostly, where the dialogue is almost drowned out by the noises of the chatter of other patrons in the restaurant, but this is restricted to one of two scenes at the very beginning of the film. The film itself is very gentle, and understated, and the audio parts of the film match that too.
Extras
None.
Overall
If you have any interest in wine and the process of wine making then I’m sure you will find the film, at the very least, mildly interesting. All the participants of the film are real people playing themselves and at times it shows. Charlie is affable person and carries the film well but is best suited when he is playing himself rather than speaking from the script. ‘The Ways of Wine’ is a real love letter to wine and the people that make it and that affection and enthusiasm shines through in all the performances of those that took part.
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