Rating: 
Summary: One of the best video's ever made!
Review: This is a "must have" video. It's a sensitive, charming story about two people who really care for each other, making a new life in a beautiful region they both love. John Thaw (Inspetor Morse) at his best. We like it so much, we're watching for it to come out on DVD!
Rating: 
Summary: The seasons in Provence, as seen by a retiring couple.
Review: This is a delighful movie that is very entertaining in a very intelectually enriching manner. The movie shows the beautiful country side of Provence while telling wonderful stories of the experiances of a couple trying to retire from England. The two face troubles with the leisurly pace of the country side and their coping with the change provides a very relaxing and enriching movie session.
Rating:
Summary: A Terrific Escape
Review: This set is a terrific antidote to daily stress and pressure. It's a wonderful series with top notch acting, directing and dialogue. Like the best of PG Wodehouse, it presents a world where the everyday challenges are so minimal that they become comical. The Mayles battle annoying houseguests (Alfred Molina from Boogie Nights), strange neighbors, huge lunches, procrastinating builders, constantly crowing roosters, self-obsessed Parisiens, drunk plasterers, scantily-clad baker's wives, truffle poachers and a variety of other wonderfully realized characters. Top it off with home made wine, ridiculously mangled French (from the Mayles), a Citroen and a dead fox and you've got a winner. This is a set that draws you in and makes you want to watch it repeatedly. Terrific!
Rating:
Summary: I Felt I Was There
Review: This set of videos will give you hours of pleasure and make you want to pack up and make the grand move to France. What a wonderful visual delight to see France and share the fun that Peter Mayle and his lovely wife must have experienced. My wife and I could barely stop watching at the end of each video tape. The story captures your heart and mind. The humor is subtle and every so delectable. It leaves you wanting to spend another Year in Provence. I would highly recommend the video set if you want to see Mr. Mayle's work put on the screen.
Rating:
Summary: Best of the Best in Provence
Review: This video series is a terrific addition to an adult library. It is so well done that I am hoping they will do "Another Year in Provence". The actors and production provide such a true feeling of this lovely area and its local color that I feel I know them and will miss knowing what they are doing next. I highly recommend this for couples who have also retired to work at the hands of an overwhelming number of visitors.
Rating:
Summary: A Year In Provence
Review: We absolutely adore this movie. It was given to us as a Christmas present and we've watched it over and over - something I NEVER do with movies. Totally delightful, entertaining and charming. In fact, I enjoyed the movie so much I took a trip to Provence last year and traveling thru the countryside I realized how wonderfully authentic the movie is and now enjoy the movie even more! A movie that anyone who enjoys travel should see. Pour the wine, heat the french bread, serve the cheese and fruit and enjoy a great movie!
Rating: 
Summary: Tarte Tatin and Truffles
Review: When I first saw the title of this movie, I was intrigued. I wasn't looking for a movie about France, but any movie title with the word Provence has my attention. When I saw it was a TV comedy, I thought it might be a nice few hours escape. I also imagined it might have some Provence countryside and local flair. This movie starts out very slowly, so you have to be patient. In fact, I wasn't sure I had put in the right tape to start with, but soon I figured out what the movie was about. Peter (an advertising executive) and his wife who decide to quit their jobs in England and just run off to southern France. After buying a quaint farmhouse in Provence, they try to settle into the slow paced country life. This is a very laid back movie, and that is perhaps its charm. Food is also a theme in this movie. There are romantic restaurants and fun scenes of Peter going to the bakery to get a baguette for breakfast. There is a bit of drama with the bakery near the end of the movie. You will laugh out loud in some scenes as Peter is pulled along with a pig hunting for truffles. There is a "truffle mystery theme" running through the movie. The humor in this made-for-TV romantic comedy is dry English humor, which I quite enjoy. This is really more of a comedy, than a romance. Perhaps the romance is that a couple is trying to find their dream and they stick together through the good and the bad. What I loved was that Peter was a writer and he is always trying to finish his novel. His wife helps him on a writing assignment about Provence and that is when things turn more into a mystery. There is a good dose of the "French language" in this movie, but you always know what the actors are saying because Peter and his wife let you know. The cultural misunderstandings are very amusing, but trying in a way. Annie and Peter do attempt to fit in and learn as much French as they can. When they experience the good and the bad, it is then they appreciate France all the more. The "mistral" winds (strong winds) catch them off guard as they never imagined they would have to deal with a freezing cold environment. When the pipes freeze and they are expecting company, they end up starting a kitchen renovation, which takes forever to complete. To top it all off, people keep dropping in unexpectedly and expect to be entertained. While they enjoy the company of "real friends," they do attempt to get rid of a summer guest only to have him make a choice they are not happy with. The situations these two characters get themselves into are quite funny. They also meet up with quite a few interesting characters, those being the local residents. I do wish they had shown more of the Provençal countryside and lifestyle, but it was entertaining. I have always thought it would be fun to live in France and be a writer. This movie was entertaining in that regard. I would also love to live in that house with a pool! What a life! If you enjoy English humor, which is very dry...you will love it! If you love Provence, France, this is a rare treat. Now where did I put that recipe for Tarte Tatin from my friend who was born in Provence! Caramelized apples with puff pastry is sounding very good right now! The French sure now how to cook!
Rating:
Summary: Wondeful movie to enjoy over and over.
Review: While different from the two books it is based upon, the series brings its own magic to one's living room. As we follow the adventures of the Mayles in Provence, we can almost taste the local foods and smell the local smells. With original and entertaining characters, one falls in love with the southern way of life.
| 
