|
|
A well-advised oenologist, Nossiter opens the doors of virgin sanctuaries hidden from external word, invites himself to the houses of all-powerful Californian or Florentine billionaires, and gets closer to the "stars" of wine, influential critics or frightening wine merchants. The true success of this fluid documentary lies in the capacity of the pleasant Jonathan Nossiter of spouting out the implicit. Admitted into very closed circles, Nossiter gains the confidence of his interlocutors. On peaceful ground, the words flow freely until the point of no return. And it is what the protagonists miss, this unconscious part, which constitutes the salt of Mondovino. For example, the American family Mondavi, convinced to be right, employs a Mexican workforce to whom they offer t-shirts and baseball caps, according to their years of service. Watch out, paternalism has limits! The seduction participates in the relationships maintained between the interviewer and the protagonists. All, except for rare exceptions (like the moving widow who planted her vine in an act of love and to rebuild herself), play a game of dupes. From Michel Rolland, the avid consultant, as seductive as he is crafty, on to the critic George Parker, a veritable ayatollah of wine, decorated by President Chirac and respected by the greats. The visit at the Parker house is worth its weight in peanuts. How this highly skilled expert, doubling as an aesthete, can live in such a kitsch interior, colonized by a legion of bulldogs, whose mouths are displayed on the walls of the house? Same report of bad taste in the offices of Mouton Rothschild, with some more than doubtful visual advertising. Little by little Nossiter, without abandoning his good manners, shows the underside of the bitter setting. And he carefully denounces the collusion between the various authorities who govern the market. The local producers, some who remain attached to traditional methods, cannot resist the multinationals who are equipped with more modern means of production. The appellations contrôlées (the label that guarantees the origin of wine) fight against brands of wine produced from many components. If wine is a symbol of Western civilization, today the search for profit carries it. What remains at the heart of wine, as defined by Aimé Guibert, a producer in Languedoc? "Wine is a quasi- religious relationship of man with the natural elements. With the immaterial. It is the trade of poet to make a great wine ". And to conclude quite naturally that "wine is dead". And the spectator to drink the sediments of these impertinent, poetic, and philosophical words. Indeed, Nossiter's project is burdened by its duration, almost three hours of interviews. Mondovino, undoubtedly, would surely have gained some force had Nossiter been determined to prune his film. Apart from this overly long running time , this documentary brings a reflection on civilization. Hubert de Montille, a producer from Burgundy, asserts that "where there are vines, there is civilization. There is no cruelty ". One would like to share this ideal vision, but today, it very well seems that the barbarian invasions have started.
 |
|
