"Sour Grapes" is an interesting documentary because it has a lot to say about human nature...particularly about how stupid folks can be...even rich folks!
The film begins with the insane craze of the 90s and into the 21st century that sent the prices of the premier wines to the moon. In some cases, wines had gone up ten times...all because folks suddenly thought buying Bordeaux wines was the best...and a way to show off their wealth. Into this atmosphere came Rudy Kurniawan...a wine expert that seemed to have an almost inexhaustible supply of wine to sell to the great auction houses. Not surprisingly, eventually folks started to question his high lifestyle and a French winemaker was justifiably angry when he realized counterfeit wines were being sold with his winery's name on it.
Most viewers probably DON'T care too much about spoiled rich folks getting ripped off. However, I enjoyed the film because it was an interesting look at human nature--the greed, the willing stupidity and the insistence by a couple idiots that Rudy STILL is a pretty cool guy!!! It's also interesting, but not the least bit surprising, that Rudy's lawyer made 1001 excuses and minimizations for his client's actions...after all, he IS a defense lawyer. Overall, there's a lot of interesting things here about people...and the realization that wealth and sophistication don't necessarily have much correlation with common sense!
The film begins with the insane craze of the 90s and into the 21st century that sent the prices of the premier wines to the moon. In some cases, wines had gone up ten times...all because folks suddenly thought buying Bordeaux wines was the best...and a way to show off their wealth. Into this atmosphere came Rudy Kurniawan...a wine expert that seemed to have an almost inexhaustible supply of wine to sell to the great auction houses. Not surprisingly, eventually folks started to question his high lifestyle and a French winemaker was justifiably angry when he realized counterfeit wines were being sold with his winery's name on it.
Most viewers probably DON'T care too much about spoiled rich folks getting ripped off. However, I enjoyed the film because it was an interesting look at human nature--the greed, the willing stupidity and the insistence by a couple idiots that Rudy STILL is a pretty cool guy!!! It's also interesting, but not the least bit surprising, that Rudy's lawyer made 1001 excuses and minimizations for his client's actions...after all, he IS a defense lawyer. Overall, there's a lot of interesting things here about people...and the realization that wealth and sophistication don't necessarily have much correlation with common sense!