Last night, courtesy of Netflix, Jean and I watched the film "Mondovino." Having heard some of the buzz concerning this anti-globalization polemic, I was prepared for the worst in the Michael Moore piethrowing vein. Instead, I found myself much more comfortable with the film than I had expected. I will not give a detailed review, but rather just some impressions. Firstly, there is no narration and Nossiter allows his interviewees to speak for themselves, though he certainly attempts to frame the conversation with his questions. Secondly, I find much of the criticism of this film a bit OTT: does Nossiter really attack Parker? If so, how? Certainly, Nossiter must be intelligent enough to realize that the potrait he paints on the screen isn't malevolant or offensive. Parker comes off looking like the passionate, honest person that he is. The cheap editing tricks of throwing in "ominous" images are sophomoric, but hardly constitute an attack. Thirdly, I found the portraits of Hubert de Montille and Aimé Guibert to be more nuanced than simple hero worship: Guibert appeared to be quite self-interested and de Montille to have a depth of sardonic humor behind many of his more pessimistic statements. I also didn't find the footage of the Mondavis to be at all damning; as opposed to the incredibly self-absorbed Staglins and Michel Rolland. I could go on, but I won't. Overall, I found the picture presented by the film to be far more complex than I'd been led to expect. There were few angels and only one devil. It didn't offer cheap solutions, but rather pointed out the battle lines and introduced some of the personalities. In particular, I found myself wondering what Nossiter would make of the sale of Mondavi to Constellation and how it fits in with his film's thesis. I could have done without all the WW II references (is it any surprise that the Antinoris and Frescobaldis, both pillars of the landed gentry, supported Mussolini? Who brought him to power if not the aristocracy?) but that is a minor quibble. Using Dale's scale, I'd give Mondovino a B+
Mark Lipton (Now seeking out Neal Rosenthal wines)