Movie Review: Tokyo Wine Party People
2019
1:41 long
Amazon Prime, free streaming
[Edited to remove spoilers]
I think this movie just got released for free streaming on Amazon Prime a few days ago, I don’t recall seeing it on any lists, or searches before. Unlike most wine movies, where the drink is an ancillary element of the plot line, in this movie its the central aspect, and oenophiles - especially those who love classic French regions - will enjoy this movie. Even the stemware they use is clearly top tier.
The movie is subtitled into English, and that appears to be strangely interpreted, and by someone who might not have been highly knowledgeable about wine, but it works well enough, and as one watches, and gets drawn in to the slow moving story the subtitling gets overlooked. The characters - even though they are foreign - have a wonderful complexity that becomes more interesting when viewing through the lens of a foreign (to me) society. Everyone will knows them: the boorish know it all wine guy, a rich entrepreneur who can casually uncork a 1990 DRC Echezeaux, the edgy friend who has had plastic surgery and repeats to herself in front of bathroom mirrors ‘I’m pretty and will find a boyfriend’, a sommellier who drinks a touch too much, and so on.
About 2/3 of the way through, the movie gathers momentum and interest when the protagonist attends a party where a range of trophy wines are poured. There’s a flashback story, and then the moralistic result. The tasting group then repairs privately to drink another wine; discusses the quality and what it means. It’s a poignant little touch, that those who have followed a certain long running WB board saga will enjoy (or at least understand).
Overall: TWPP is a chaste romance mashed up with a wine story, and would be a good first/doubles date movie for a wine enthusiast. There’s no awkward raunchiness that would be weird on a first date, but it also shows depth of affection for wine, which could be a useful aspect to get out of the way. I’d give this move a B+ and recommend it, especially with a goblet of AOC Margaux.
PS: like the Disney Marvel movies, watch the movie all the way to the end, past the credits!