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Mondovino More at IMDbPro »
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| Index | 27 reviews in total |
50 out of 51 people found the following review useful:
Too much of a good thing?, 12 September 2004
Author:
James McNally from Toronto, Canada
I saw this film at the 2004 Toronto International Film Festival. Since
I work in the wine business, I had been quite eager to see this
documentary, and I wasn't disappointed. Reportedly drawn from over 500
hours of footage, the good news is that Nossiter will be releasing not
only a theatrical cut, but a ten-part, ten hour series of the film on
DVD by next Christmas (ThinkFilm is distributing it). The bad news is
that it's still a bit of an unwieldy beast. When it was shown in
Cannes, it was close to three hours long. For Toronto, he's cut about
half an hour but it still clocked in at 135 minutes. Now, for me,
that's fine. I love wine and I love hearing about the controversies
raging in my business. But not everyone wants that much.
Nossiter flits around the globe, from Brazil to France to California to
Italy to Argentina, talking to wine makers and PR people and
consultants and critics about the state of the wine world. The theme
that emerges is that globalization and the undue influence of wine
critic Robert Parker are forcing a kind of sameness on wine. Small
local producers are either being bought up by larger conglomerates
(American as well as local), or are being pressured by market forces to
change their wines to suit the palate of Mr. Parker, who dictates taste
to most of the American (and world) markets.
It's a complicated subject, and I can understand why Nossiter wants to
let his subjects talk. There is Robert Mondavi, patriarch of the Napa
wine industry, and his sons Tim and Michael, whose efforts to buy land
in Languedoc faced opposition from local vignerons and government
officials. There is Aimé Guibert, founder and wine maker of Daumas
Gassac, iconoclastic opponent of Mondavi's plans and crusader for wines
that express local terror. There is Robert Parker himself, expressing
some discomfort with his influence while refusing to stop writing about
the wines that he favours. There is "flying wine maker" Michel Rolland,
consultant for dozens of wineries all over the world, advising them how
to make Parker- friendly wines. There are many many more fascinating
personalities in this documentary.
If you are a wine lover, you will want to seek out the ten-part series
as well as the theatrical version of this film. But even if you're not
into wine, the film is an interesting look at how the forces of
globalization are changing many of the world's oldest and most
established traditions. The effects on local cultures and economies
cannot be ignored.
(8/10)
49 out of 52 people found the following review useful:
Dry, but fruity, and long on the palate, 1 April 2005
Author:
Chris Knipp from Berkeley, California
Mondovino is an extraordinary documentary. It's self-indulgent, quirky,
opinionated and overlong, but it's likely to be indespensible, because
it's a devastating anatomy of the growing conflict between authentic
local production (the French key word is "terroir") and the
globalization of wine by which family origins are forgotten and the
emphasis is on quick satisfaction, forward flavor, and standardized
tastes.
The maker of this film is Jonathan Nossiter, polyglot, sommelier, happy
tippler, photographer, director, and star interviewer in his
documentary film – which began as a quickie, but wound up taking four
years to make. Nossiter appears as fluent in Italian as he is in
French, and perhaps in Spanish and Portuguese too. He's often on
screen, addressing everyone in their native language, but it's his
camera that's obsessed with sometimes annoying details, above all dogs.
Never mind, though; he manages to get everybody to open up to him,
including many of the leading "players" of the international wine
market, including those who come off the worst in Nossiter's
documentary. And even those dogs turn out to have meaning. Isn't one's
dog the clearest metaphor for a person's true nature?
It's obvious Nossiter likes Battista Columbu in Sardinia and Hubert de
Montille in Volnay best – and it's obvious why. They're different sorts
of men: Columbu is radiant and serene, de Montille querulous and
acerbic. But they stand equally for what may be a vanishing world --
one where wine-making is authentic, personal, local, humane, where it's
identified with place of origin not brand, done for pride of craft not
profit, or – what the Michel Rollands and Mondavis want – for
worldwide, nay, universe-wide market domination. Both dream openly on
camera of making wine on other planets and of selling it to everyone.
De Montille comes across as mattering more than the Mondavis or any of
the other aristos and plutocrats. He has only a few hectares. He makes
wine that's severe, edgy, not for everyone – like himself -- and
long-lasting. He's true to himself. A big focus of Mondovino is how the
California Mondavis – who've already collaborated with overblown first
growth bordeaux Mouton Rothchild to produce a pricey California hybrid,
Opus One, since the Eighties -- recently tried to get hold of a big
slice of burgundy. But a communist mayor took over the town from a
socialist one and the sweetheart deal was off.
The Wine Spectator becomes, as Nossiter shows, one of the manipulators,
and manipulation is an essential aspect of globalization. So too is
Robert Parker, of Monkton, Maryland (who gets interviewed and his
flatulent bulldogs thoroughly photographed). Parker has always been
independent, but his wine ratings (and his taste) have come to wield
too much power over the world wine market. French wine-makers are
terrified of him, and that situation has undermined their independence.
Parker, it turns out, has long been very friendly with Michel Rolland,
a super-star French wine consultant (whose Mercedes limo we get to ride
around in), and it turns out that the kind of heady, forward,
fast-developing wine Parker likes is also what Rolland encourages
wine-makers to produce – and globalization means not only eliminating
small producers but homogenizing wine styles. Hence Rolland's ebullient
charm is suspect, but so are Parker's so-called authenticity and
independence.
The richness of Nossiter's picture comes out in the way he delineates
wine families and their different, sometimes squabbling, members – most
of all the de Montilles, the stubborn, feisty and wise old Hubert; his
energetic son Etienne, who works for the powerful negociant, Boisset;
and his daughter, Alix, in personality closer to Hubert, who decided to
leave Boisset because they want her to lie -- to put her seal on wines
she hasn't supervised the making of.
Nossiter's eye and ear can be devastating. The rich Staglin family in
Napa Valley emerges as self-congratulatory and self-deceiving nouveaux
bores. Their and other ruling wine families' condescension, outright
racism, and covert or past links with the fascists and even the Nazis
is another of the persistent filmmaker's gradual revelations. As one
Nossiter interviewer has said, "don't get him on the subject of
Berlusconi and Bush"; but Berlusconi is just fine with the wealthy
Italian wine-making families.
Another sympathetic dissenter to the globalizing bandwagon is New York
wine importer Neal Rosenthal, who knows the importance of terroir and
the inroads against it. Rosenthal was present as a speaker after two of
Film Forum's afternoon showings of Mondovino -- a local hero, of sorts,
for the documentary's US premiere.
It's hard to do justice to the film or even list its full roster of
figures. Michael Broadbent, longtime Wine Director at Christie's, a
dry, aristocratic Englishman, once a leading authority and wine
tastemaker, now eclipsed, as all are, by Parker, appears on screen to
fill in the central role the English played in the growth of France's
finest wines. Bernard Magrez, head of a huge Bordeaux dealership; the
Antinoris of Florence (aristocrats with fascist lineage). . .the list
goes on and on. One doesn't want to stop, and one sees why Nossiter's
film is too long. Because it's all there in the details: this is what
the controversy is about. Little things matter. Mondovino is annoying
(the jumpy camera, the dog farts), but also riveting and important – a
film not to be missed. And for the truly interested, there is a
ten-part TV series from this material on the way.
35 out of 38 people found the following review useful:
Don't Ask About the Dogs, 25 October 2004
Author:
Chris Bright from London
I saw this at the London Film Festival last night, apparently the
shorter version. James McNally's summary of the content of the film is
very good. Nossiter very deftly blends his investigation of the wine
business into wider concerns about globalisation, homogenisation, the
effect of the mass media, the power of capital and the need for
diversity.
The film is shot on hand-held DV which some might find offputting, but
which does enable Nossiter to catch people off guard on a number of
occasions which probably would not have been possible using more
conventional equipment.
Despite the sprawling feel of the film, the editing is very sharp, not
only giving us a parade of the world's dogs, but also undercutting a
number of interviewees' comments with somewhat contradictory visual
images, and giving others sufficient rope to hang themselves. To a
degree this evoked Michael Moore's recent work (although Nossiter
operates in a more subtle way), but probably the roots of the film go
back to Marcel Ophuls' "The Sorrow and the Pity", both in the way the
film is constructed and in the emergence of 'salt of the earth' French
peasants as the stars. De Montille pere et fils were present at the LFF
screening and answered questions afterwards. We do indeed all need a
little disorder - bravo Hubert!
Overall an excellent film with implications that go way beyond the
world of wine into the way we construct ourselves as people, and
organise our world.
16 out of 20 people found the following review useful:
Austin Movie Show review, 12 June 2005
Author:
leilapostgrad from Austin, TX
Mondovino is a dense, rich, and complex documentary on the power
struggles and major players of the "wine world" elite. It depicts the
endless struggle of the old world versus the new global capitalist
order. On one hand we have the older, aging, independent grape-growers
and wine makers of Burgundy and Tuscany. They have a philosophy of wine
as a symbol of civilization. It's not simply a commodity to them. The
production and consumption of wine is a religious experience between
man and the earth.
On the other side of the "war" are the major wine-producing
conglomerates, such as the Mondavi family of Napa Valley or the
producers of Ornelliai wine in Italy. No, these aren't bad people. They
simply have a different philosophy on wine production, and they eagerly
embrace the new technologies and innovations in wine fermentation, such
as the "New Oak" barrels that speed up production. They also hire
Michel Rollan, a world-famous "wine consultant," who tells people how
they can better the quality of their wine through different production
processes. But the smaller, more independent wineries see "wine
consultants" as harmful to diversity, because they worry that
consultants seek to make all wine the same. Just because one consultant
likes or doesn't like a wine, does not mean that every pallet will
agree.
Mondovino also shows the dark histories of many of the world's most
powerful wine producers. Some of the most successful wine makers in
France collaborated with Nazi Germany in World War II, and most of the
major wine producers in Italy supported Fascism and Mussolini. There
are still racist and elitist undertones in much of the wine world
today. Mondovino carefully weaves together the web of land, power,
politics, and wine.
This film is a lot a great bottle of wine. It's complex, multifaceted,
and can't be rushed. I'm not going to lie -- Mondovino is not a short
movie. It's over two hours long. But like a great wine gets better with
age, so to does this movie get better as time progresses.
If you've ever wanted to know more about wine and the people who make
it, this film is a great resource to learn from. "Wine people" are
going to love it. But for the average Joe who just wants a good time at
the theater, this probably is not the best selection for him. It's not
entertaining as much as it's educational, and if you're not in the
mood, you're not going to feel it. Just like how you can't enjoy a
savory glass of Pinot Noir if all you want is a beer.
8 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
The incorruptibles of the wine business, 21 January 2006
Author:
P C from Belgium
Business vs. personal conviction. Profit vs. art.
As with any documentary that pits the capitalist large corporations
against the small producer, the viewer will invariably have to take the
side of one or the other based on their own believes. This is as much a
documentary of the new standardized way of doing things that
globalization is bringing us, against the old traditional ways where
character and the art of making things matters almost more than getting
the product sold.
If you have to remember one thing from this movie, it is that the
masses can no longer decide by themselves, they just follow the taste
of one or a couple of critics that tend to equalize and standardize
taste in the same way as MacDonalds used to do for the fast bite
(something Parker himself admits to in the film against a backdrop of a
Burger King sign). "It is all about image" against content as another
interviewee says. That is the easy way, the standardized way. Easier
than taking the time for a nice wine to mature, easier than to forge
your own taste by trying and trying yet over again. Controlled branded
taste is easier.
There is a glitter of hope when even some of our cousins across the
ocean agree that a few people are "levelling" the taste of wines to
maximize the profits and ensure a maximum of it gets sold to the "grey
masses". Individuality and difference is sacrificed for the extra buck.
It is nice to see that not everything or everyone is giving in to
standardization, even across the ocean.
As in many other areas of today's world, dominance of a few and reduced
freedom of choice impacts us all... let everyone make up their mind and
decide what to go for. Too much standardization kills the mind and
taste; difference brings innovation and healthy competition and will
allow for choice - and not just vacuum-packed "more of the same".
Standardization sells easily and a lot, and brings everyone to the same
level - the lower one.
On this, I am going to open up a nice bottle and wish you a hearthy
"sante".
6 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
A flawed industry, 11 October 2005
Author:
jjlasne from San Francisco
A very interesting documentary - certainly a lot more than Sideways, a pseudo wino drama - where the capitalist conspiracy is revealed in all its greed. According to the documentary - and confirmed by the recent publication of a biography on Parker - only two men dictate the nature of wines in the world: Robert Parker of Massachussets and Michel Rolland, a French wine industry expert based in Bordeaux and also known as a "flying winemaker". The director is clever enough to insert interviews of local wine producers from many different regions of France, from Sicily to Argentina and interviews of the biggest players in the industry such as the Mondavi family to uncover the wraps on the globalization of wine making and marketing. A must see for anyone interested in the dark side of the industry. Drinking a glass of wine will not be the same political and commercial act after watching this well made documentray.
5 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Micro oxygenate this!, 30 November 2005
Author:
legalerien from Saint-Pierre, France
I was expecting a lot from this movie, and I can say I haven't been
disappointed. First of all, this movie, as a world tour of wine making,
let the spectator enjoy beautiful places. The people interviewed are
really interesting and funny too, in particular Hubert de Montille. The
shooting may be confusing, the camera always being unsteady and often
focusing on secondary elements in the backgrounds. You may not like it,
but I don't consider it as a defect.
The themes raised in the movie may be kind of confusing as well, since
globalization isn't the only issue discussed. But Nossiter managed to
give his movie a consistency all along. A great achievement of this
movie is revealing all the characters involved in the wine industry as
they really are, avoiding a cliché "Good against Evil". This could be
the main difference between "Mondovino" and Michael Moore's
documentaries; Nossiter's point of view appears in a subtle way,
through opinions expressed by his favorite characters. The richness of
this documentary relies mainly upon the characters, the history of
long-time wine-making families, such as the De Montilles, the Mondavis,
the Antinori and the Frescobaldi. Nossiter lets the spectator discover
that wine is somehow related to families, rather than just being a
business and an industry. This movie doesn't make you want to drink
wine, but certainly make you want to discover vineyards and
wine-makers.
I watched this movie as a student in Enology, and let's just there are
many ways to learn. I give this documentary 10 out of 10, despite his
technical particularities.
3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Interesting, real, compassionate and full of dogs :-), 27 May 2006
Author:
OzOsman from Earth
Just saw this movie 2 days ago. A very interesting look at people and
our world through the world of wine. I have no special interest in
wine, and yet I found this very enlightening. The director gave me the
impression that he has the ability to show people as they are. While he
exposes a lot of things that are below the surface he manages not to
take a stand and leave that for the viewer. He shows a lot of
compassion to people (and dogs) and sympathy and let people tell their
story and in the same time exposes what they don't want to tell.
The movie shows us where our world is going to, what are the benefits
and what is the heavy price we pay. It is a movie about the love of
wine and the love of making it big, personal and global, character and
formula.
The real stars of the people for me are the older wine makers with
their disillusioned look at the world and themselves.
It takes some time to get use to the hectic camera moves and editing,
but it's worth it.
Highly recommended.
4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
A simple, powerful anti-globalisation documentary, 29 October 2006
Author:
Framescourer from London, UK
It's not really about wine. No, Nossiter's real targets are those who
would streamline and assimilate the peculiarities of local (wine)
production for business purposes. To this end he has made an excellent,
objective film. Spirited, bumptious, emotional and flawed independent
wine producers are juxtaposed with media-finessed, anodynesprech
Amercians and auld-Europeans: the art of wine-making against
market-driven, laboratorised product manufacture. It's an open show
that doesn't lead conclusion.
Nossiter's film is occasionally infuriating to watch - cameras are
neither concealed, nor steadicam, by any means. There are also plenty
of captions as well as subtitles to wade through, often too short a
time on screen.
However it does outdo Michael Moore at the game Moore can't play
anyway. The characters speak for - and therefore condemn - themselves.
Well worth a viewing 7/10
3 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
not just for people who love wine, 24 March 2005
Author:
tomstrock from new york
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
mondovino is a moving and rewarding documentary. in the world of wine there is a huge different between the big winery and the small one. it's not just about size of of your vineyard but also the amount of money and power you have. if you have enough money to place ads in the wine spectator and hire a so called "wine except" then it doesn't matter the size of your estate. also in business world of today wine often has to mass marketed and suited to people's taste. what is means many times wine filtered of it's origin. mondovino shows the commercial side of wine in that of mega producer Robert mondavi, and Michael Rolland the wine expert who shapes wine to the taste of today's critics like Robert parker who is also in the film. now these men are not evil or wrong for they have done a great deal of good for wine. but they have power on a grand scale. as we all know power corrupts. mondovino also shows small wine makers such as Aime Guilbert of the languedoc and Hubert de montille of volnay in burgundy. these wine makers are not starving wine makers but they know like all great wine makers that it's about where the grapes are from. the best example of this is explained not by a wine maker but by a Haitian man working for Neal rosenthal the wine importer. the area the grapes are grown the terroir that matters, that a guiding hand that knows this makes important real wine.
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