SHADOWS IN THE SUN
UK/Italy, 2005, 96 minutes, Colour.
Harvey Keitel, Joshua Jackson, Claire Forlani, Giancarlo Giannini, John Rhys- Davies.
Directed by Brad Mirman.
Shadows in the Sun is a pleasing, easy romantic film set in Italy. It is a great draw for audiences to be tempted to go to Tuscany, so beautifully is it filmed.
The plot concerns an author who has been out of circulation and not writing for twenty years, after the death of his wife in a car accident. He is played by Harvey Keitel. In the meantime, a British entrepreneur in publishing (John Rhys- Davies) sends one of his employees to persuade the writer to write again and make a lucrative contract. The young man is played by Joshua Jackson of Dawson’s Creek. Claire Danes is pleasing as Keitel’s daughter. Giancarlo Giannini is the local parish priest – seen mainly eating, quaffing a great deal of wine, offering good advice.
The plot is familiar, the focus is on the novelist and his eccentric way of life, his resistance to the offers of the young man, his growing interest in the young man and mentoring him to be a writer himself. Needless to say, there are happy endings all round, especially with the help of the parish priest, a story about a bird whose wings were wounded, and the connivance of his mother to be able to persuade the young man to stay in Italy.
1.A pleasingly romantic story, optimistic? The familiar story of the recluse writer, the ambitious young man, falling in love with the author’s daughter …?
2.The title, Tuscany and the sun – and the shadows of life?
3.The London settings, the details of the city, the office? The contrast with Tuscany, the small village, the beautiful countryside, the herds and flocks, the bars, the church? The musical score? Songs?
4.The introduction to Jeremy, his life, in the United Kingdom, going to work, the bus ride, the office, the discussions with Benton? The job, going to Italy, persuading Parish to work again? Issues of contract, money? Benton and the phone calls throughout the film, the pressure?
5.Jeremy going to Italy, its beauty, the attractive countryside, his arrival, Gustavo and the cases, no tip? Gustavo and protecting Parish? Jeremy asking everyone, their not knowing anything? The postman, the parcel, Jeremy following him? Encountering Isabella, her warning? Going to the cellar, Parish pretending to be mad? Jeremy’s failure, the return, overhearing Gustavo’s phone call? Going to meet Parish, his setting the dog on him? His talkings with Isabella, his feelings about Parish’s novel and the influence it had on him as a boy, his own vocation? Going to Parish again, the inn, buying the drinks? Meeting the Parish priest? Gustavo always present? The drinking, their tying him up, throwing him in the pond? The encounter with Mc Bain, the rivalry between the novelists, Mc Bain punching him? Going to the pond, Parish and his naked son bathing, Jeremy’s embarrassment? Beginning of a friendship?
6.Jeremy in himself, uptight, living alone, his ambitions to write, his admiration for Parish, with Parish, the talks, the humiliations, starting to write, the Scottish novelist, the attraction to Isabella, the meals with her, talking, falling in love?
7.The meals, the outdoor meal with the family, Isabella and her sisters, Gustavo, the parish priest? The drinking and good fellowship?
8.Harvey Keitel’s portrayal of Parish: his successful novel, his wife and her death, his grief, his love for his daughters, their families, marriages, Isabella at home? The twenty years? His lifestyle, the criticisms by the Scots novelist? With the cattle, the grapes? His friendship with the parish priest, with Gustavo? Easy relationships? Protecting his privacy?
9.Parish’s advice to Jeremy, his fears, the typewriter, not the computer, the fight with Jeremy, the challenge? His writing, change of heart?
10.Jeremy, his being challenged, talking with the priest, getting ideas, the manuscript? The talk with Parish, the mutual challenge, the fears, Parish’s breaking down?
11.The priest, good fellowship, drinking, eating, his story of the bird with the wing – and using his mother to tell the story on the train and bring Jeremy back to Isabella?
12.Gustavo, the hotel, the Italian attitude, friendship with Parish, present at all the events?
13.Isabella, her age, sympathy, talking with Jeremy, the warnings about her father, the meals and the drink together, the relationship, the sexual encounter, her reasons, her choices, the horses, going riding with Jeremy, staying in Italy – and the end and Jeremy coming to her?
14.Jeremy on the train, his decision, the old lady, the irony of the priest’s mother? The story of the bird? The change in Jeremy – and a warmer future?
