Saint Amour

For Bruno, the agricultural show in Paris marks the high point of his year since it means he can go on a wine tasting tour through France’s wine-growing regions and drink his way from one stand to the next without even leaving the exhibition hall. His father Jean apparently has but one aim in mind: to win a prize with his breeding bull Nabuchodonosor. Bruno is sick of being a farmer and wants to get out of the family business. Jean decides this year to motivate his son by taking him on a real vineyard tour. And so, having hired a young taxi driver named Mike, they set off on an improvised trip through a number of different wine-growing regions. During the course of their meanderings, these three different men get to taste not only delectable wines such as Saint Amour, but also the pleasures of love. Named after a famous Beaujolais, this is a comedy bursting with life; it is an homage not only to good wine but also to so-called ‘simple folk’. The seventh collaboration of the directing pair, whose film Mammuth screened at the Berlinale in 2010, takes a tender and humorous look at a father-son relationship. Author Michel Houellebecq makes a guest appearance.