Enchanted April

"It's April in Italy, and anything can happen... even love."

1991 1h 35m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

★6.7TMDB · 78

RomanceDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When married British women Rose Arbuthnot and Lottie Wilkins decide to take a break from their respective spouses, they stay at a castle in Italy for a quiet holiday. Joining the ladies is Caroline Dester, a young socialite, and Mrs. Fisher, an older aristocrat. Liberated from their daily routines, the four women ease into life in rural Italy, and each finds herself transformed by the experience.

“It's April in Italy, and anything can happen... even love.”

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Cast

Josie Lawrence
Lottie Wilkins
Miranda Richardson
Rose Arbuthnot
Polly Walker
Caroline Dester
Joan Plowright
Mrs Fisher
Alfred Molina
Mellersh Wilkins
Michael Kitchen
George Briggs
Jim Broadbent
Frederick Arbuthnot
Neville Phillips
Vicar

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Mike Newell
Writers: Peter Barnes
Languages: English, Italian
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

35 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Italian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Mike Newell, shot by Rex Maidment. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Richard Rodney Bennett. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Dick Allen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Josie Lawrence and Miranda Richardson and Polly Walker carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "It's April in Italy, and anything can happen... even love.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0101811 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Mike Newell directs. Rex Maidment behind the camera. Richard Rodney Bennett scores. Dick Allen cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English, Italian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

135 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Italian.
3Directed by Mike Newell, shot by Rex Maidment. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Richard Rodney Bennett. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Dick Allen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Josie Lawrence and Miranda Richardson and Polly Walker carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "It's April in Italy, and anything can happen... even love.".
8IMDB entry: tt0101811 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 78 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
10Classified under 8 themes, including "based on novel or book", "holiday", "italy", "female friendship".

The technical file

Cinematography: Rex Maidment
Original score: Richard Rodney Bennett
Editing: Dick Allen
Production design: Malcolm Thornton
Costume design: Sheena Napier
Makeup / hair: Deanne Turner
Runtime: 95 min · 1h 35m
Status: Released
Box office: $13,200,170
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Enchanted April (1991)

Also by

Mike Newell

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Peter McGinn2020-08-27
★ 9/10
I have always been a sucker for a good chick flick. A wonderful cast bring to life a novel about four women who rent an Italian castle to escape their dreary lives. I won’t list all seven names of the performers who make this so great. Even a couple of characters I wanted to dislike were given enough depth so that I cared about everyone in the end. It moves from one to another or to a group interacting with each other. I have read the old book this is based on and like a couple changes they made to it. I just realized as I looked this up that it was a remake of a 1935 early talkie version. It is a quiet and unassuming movie, so much so that I was a little surprised it was nominated for a few Oscars, and won some Golden a Globe awards. It took me years to track down a DVD copy of this and retire the old grainy VHS version I had.

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