Wine-Making, Dream-Telling: Niki Caro’s the Vintner’s Luck

Abstract

In this article we analyse Niki Caro’s film adaptation of New Zealand writer Elizabeth Knox’s novel The Vintner’s Luck, considering the specific context in which the film developed. We look at the movie in connection with Knox’s literary works and with other recent productions portraying Romance novels in radically different ways. Even though the film narrates a specifically fantasy romance set in 19^th century France, Caro successfully manages to balance the local particularities of the story with universal topics of wider appeal. The film has been very well received by different audiences and this relevant quality has contributed to strengthen the emotional pulse of the story and to evolve from an overblown work of amazing silliness into a masterpiece characterized by its richness and complexity.

Keywords: Niki Caro, New Zealand Literature, Film adaptation, Natural love, Wine.