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Contents © 2005
by Jim Holman.
All rights reserved.
TALK ABOUT MOVIES
November 2005
ENCHANTED APRIL
Directed by Mike Newell. Starring Josie Lawrence, Miranda Richardson. Color, 95 minutes, UK, English/Italian. Available at Kensington Video.
Ernie: The Road to Damascus moment comes right at the beginning, when Lottie sees the ad for San Salvatore. It's a vocation of sorts -- a calling from the despair of London and the despair of her marriage. And the call is such that she recognizes Rose experiencing the same things when she reads the ad. I loved that everybody thinks they're widows, because, emotionally, they are. In their quiet selfishness, they've died to their husbands. At San Salvatore, God brings them back to life. His voice, through the beauty of creation, is set up against the cheerlessness of man-made London. In the face of so much generosity, the women cannot remain stingy with their love.
Matthew: But after that, there aren't many Road to Damascus moments -- grace works sideways. The women think they're doing something for themselves in renting San Salvatore, but it turns out to be for their marriages. Mellersh comes only because he hopes to make business contacts. Frederick comes to see the socialite Caroline, not his wife Rose. Rose begins to remember the importance of affection and romance only after another man begins to pay attention to her. But once the grace starts working, it's like an unstoppable tide. When she meets Frederick, Rose kisses him like they've just fallen in love, and it makes him so happy. And it works on everyone else as well. Lottie sees the workings of grace -- she keeps saying, "You'll change. You'll see. It's this place."