Directed by: Alfonso Arau
Produced by: Gil Netter, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, Anthony Quinn, Giancarlo Giannini
Music by: Maurice Jarre
Production company: Zucker Brothers Productions
Release date: May 27, 1995 (Japan), August 11, 1995 (U.S.)

Plot: In 1945, after the dust settled from World War II, Sgt. Paul Sutton of the United States Army, who used to sell candy, comes back to San Francisco to reconnect with his wife, Betty. They tied the knot in a quick romance just before he headed off to the Pacific. The war has taken its toll on him, leaving him with emotional wounds and frequent flashbacks.

Paul's reunion with Betty is pretty awkward, especially when he finds out that even though he’s been writing to her nearly every day, she stopped reading his letters after the first few and has a bunch of unopened ones stashed away in a footlocker. Still, he’s set on making their marriage work and wants to kickstart a new career. Betty, however, wants him to keep selling chocolates door-to-door, so he heads off to Sacramento. On the way, he meets Victoria Aragon, a grad student from a Mexican American family that runs a vineyard in Napa Valley. When two guys start bothering Victoria on the bus, Paul steps in and ends up fighting them off. After they get kicked off the bus, he finds Victoria crying by herself a bit further down. When he discovers she’s pregnant by her professor, he offers to meet her very traditional family as her husband.

Victoria's dad, Alberto, is really upset—not just because she tied the knot with someone he thinks is beneath her, but also because she did it without asking him first. Paul had originally thought he could sneak away and let her family think he ditched her, but her grandpa, Don Pedro, convinces him to stick around and pitch in with the harvest. As they work together, Paul, who grew up without parents, starts to bond with the family and discovers the happiness that comes from their traditions and lifestyle.

End of Spoilers

Review: This is a curious love story with plenty of twists and turns. And yes it's a chick flick with a heart. So it's one for couples to watch. There are many classic visual moments set amongst a vineyard. One rather sad aspect of this story is that the story is set in California. Where many vineyards were destroyed to make way for a damn as well as a growing demand for housing. A young and vibrant Keanu Reeves does well as the disillusioned returned serviceman. Trying to reconcile his horrific memories of war. At the same time as trying to fit back into the country he once knew so well. Yet has seemingly changed without him.

MJ Flack