If you are one of the millions who subscribe to Netflix, you have certainly forced yourself in the last few days to a thorough discovery of the catalog. Looking for new releases, you may have noticed the appearance of a new movie soberly titled "UNCORKED". Written and directed by Prentice Penny, the drama focuses on a black American family in Memphis who own a traditional barbecue restaurant started by the grandfather and taken over by the patriarch upon his death. Through hard work, the family lives comfortably and everything seems scripted. The son of the family, Elijah (played by the very convincing Mamoudou Athie), will take over the business. But of course, things will not go as planned because Elijah has a dream. Passionate about wine, working for several years in a wine shop, he wants to become Master Sommelier. An extremely difficult exam, which implies following an expensive year-long training.
The beginning of a beautiful human adventure that will lead him to Paris and to the French vineyards. Particularly in Beaune at the house of Albert Bichot whose wines are mentioned several times in the film. Corton grand cru 2016, Chablis Moutonne are among the wines tasted. More generally, Burgundy has the right to many honors: a tasting session is based around a Chablis from the Simonnet-Febvre estate and Elijah also proposes a Corton-Charlemagne from Louis Latour in a sommelier exercise...
A nice movie
Obviously, "UNCORKED" is not going to become a great classic of cinema. And it does not pretend to be. However, the film is a pleasure to watch even if the scenario is obviously full of good feelings, tensions between the father and the son on a background of aborted dreams, friendships between wine lovers, self-sacrifice... The chemistry between the actors works very well. And the film has the merit of talking about wine in a slightly offbeat universe. The soundtrack, which combines rap and R&B, accompanies the views of a popular Memphis where wine is in theory relatively absent from the many local barbecue restaurants. But wine is universal. And its magic can touch anyone, whether they were born in Memphis or elsewhere. The problems Elijah faces are not seen through a black American prism, and so much the better. But simply that of a family with its doubts and its hopes. And as Elijah says: "by drinking French or Spanish wines, I can travel to these countries where I could not go". Well, the taste of wine makes us travel a little and makes us want to make a date to go enjoy an excellent barbecue around a bottle in a few weeks....
