In grey, rainy 1920s England, Lottie and Rose, tired of their overbearing husbands, decide to rent a villa for a month in Portofino, Italy. To share the cost they are joined by two other, very different, women - Lady Caroline, a beautiful but bored socialite and crusty old Mrs. Fisher, who has an impeccable literary pedigree. They all want to escape from trapped lives and in this paradise, in ways they never imagined possible, that is what they all do.
Directed by
Mike Newell
Written by
Elizabeth von Arnim (novel); Peter Barnes (writer).
Starring
Josie Lawrence (Lottie Wilkins); Miranda Richardson (Rose Arbuthnot); Alfred Molina (Mellersh Wilkins); Neville Phillips (Vicar); Jim Broadbent (Frederick Arbuthnot); Michael Kitchen (George Briggs); Joan Plowright (Mrs. Fisher); Polly Walker (Caroline Dester); Stephen Beckett (Jonathan); Matthew Radford (Patrick); Davide Manuli (Beppo); Vittorio Duse (Domenico); Adriana Facchetti (Francesca); Anna Longhi (Costanza). Please contact SFC to add other cast members and characters.
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A gem of an original film
Mark Banks (United Kingdom)
Opinion: Recommended
I have to admit that 10 minutes into watching 'Enchanted April' I was doubtful as to whether the film would live up to the positive anticipation I had previously had to watch it... it was all a little, well - dull! But that was exactly the point I soon saw as cast and crew soon shifted locations to Italy; where the fun and frolics began in a land that was a world apart from the lives that Lottie, Rose, Mrs Fisher and (Lady) Caroline led in London. My anticipation to watch 'Enchanted April' stemmed in large-part from the picturesque location I knew it featured - and on that part I was not let down. However, my endearing memory of the film will be that of the quirky, charming, humorous, amiable and oh-so-quintessentially-British characters created in the Oscar-nominated screenplay. Not one of the cast was a let down; with the four leading ladies supported in good-turn by Jim Broadbent as Mr Arbuthnot, and Alfred Molina as the hilarious Mellersh. I think what binds this film together overall though is its generally positive outlook on life, love and human relationships - a breath of fresh air. Christians might also take like the inclusion of the tale of the stick that sprouts roots and grows into a tree - the same is alleged to have happened when Joseph of Arimathea stuck his stick into the ground in Glastonbury, England.