My House in Umbria

Starring:Maggie Smith, Ronnie Barker, Chris Cooper, Benno FÃ¼rmann, Giancarlo Giannini, Timothy Spall, Libero De Rienzo, Emmy Clarke, Cecilia Dazzi, Anna Longhi, Deirdre Harrison, Silvia De Santis, Alison Cameron Adam, Lynn Swanson, Taddeo Harbutt, Vittoria Colonna Di Stigliano, Yari Gugliucci, Pietro Ragusa, Anna Orso
Director: Richard Loncraine
Studio: Hbo Home Video
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

Falling neatly into the Enchanted April and Under the Tuscan Sun category, the made-for-HBO My House in Umbria boasts lovely Italian vistas and comforting Englishness. But it begins with a note of violence: on a train rolling through the sunny countryside, a terrorist bomb detonates, killing a handful of passengers. The strangers that survive recuperate at the villa of an eccentric but kindly romance novelist, also a survivor of the blast. She's played by Maggie Smith, who bustles through the role with a pleasing mix of gin and daffodils. Chris Cooper is an uptight American who comes to the villa to pick up his orphaned niece and bristles at the bohemian atmosphere. Director Richard Loncraine maintains the melancholy mood amidst the sun-dappled gardens of Umbria, but Smith really holds the film together with her authority and slightly tipsy humor. --Robert Horton

Description

Based on the acclaimed novel by William Trevor, My House in Umbria is a charming, evocative drama about a group of travelers in Italy who find solace and friendship after being thrown together by tragedy.

Customer Reviews:

A multistory level story of healing to delight for the whole family.......2007-06-08

This movie has wonderful, lovable characters that take you through joy, sadness, hope, challenge and especially teamwork with caring....setting is beautiful, Maggie Smith her gorgeous best.....it is the kind of story that could motivate some wonderful family discussions albeit with some difficult and some lovely themes and topics....I have given it to many people for gifts...one set of grandparents who have experienced a granddaughter muted by loss to another friend who consulted on the garden at my new house. A very highly recommended movie.

The woman is awesome..........2007-05-26

Maggie Smith lovers should not be without this HBO film. Age cannot hamper nor time diminish the beauty of this woman and her work. The story conveys the richness of rising above pain by giving as much love and understanding as one can in return. Supported by a superb cast, the film encompasses mystery, humor and pathos, not to mention the beauty of the landscape. Maggie rules!

Nonsense in Umbria.......2007-04-12

Maggie Smith is a wonderful actress and the Italian scenery is photographed to a luminous perfection, but the storyline of My House in Umbria is an exasperating mess. As the grande dame romance novelist with a dark past and a relentless imagination, our heroine makes a sloppy but sometimes piercingly insightful drunk: a complex and comprehensible character, a woman to be wary of. This marvelous mystery lady is even surrounded by a fine ensemble cast. But all these interesting actors are cast adrift in an unfinished plot hinting at complications it hasn't any idea what to do with. You're set on edge for some elusive explanation that they never get to. Just when you were convinced it didn't matter any more they toss you an extra clue or two, and then finally they expect you to be charmed by an off-camera change of heart in the cold American uncle who has never given the slightest indication of being thawed out by the warmth of either Italy or the lady of the house, such an unbelievable turn of events that you expect her to awaken from a dream so you can find out what really happened. Again and again I had to ask myself, Are these really the facts of the story? Or are we just muddling about in her imagination? And of the whole movie: Are we really expected to take this immense display of sentimentality at face value? Or is there an undercurrent here that would make sense of it all if they would just get to the point? Unfortunately these questions were never reasonably answered.

My House in Umbria.......2007-04-10

DVD would not play. DVD stuck and would not go forward.

Cheers Maggie.......2007-03-30

This is a classic Maggie Smith, with a very brave protrayal of her charachter. The plot moves about, but you slowly begin to realize that her character is narating to you and bringing the other characters to life.
Not that you would need help. If you are a Maggie Smith fan... and it's why I bought the movie.... you will not be disapointed. It's one of her best if you wan't a taste of Maggie.

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