Some writer-pals and I decided to do a fun thing and blog about each others’ blogs. So for the next few weeks, I’m going to weave in posts about their blogs (with a movie theme, of course!).
Today’s entry is for Amy Grisak’s blog, Living in Season. It made me think of movies with a gardening theme, so here are my Top 5 Movies with a Garden Theme:
1. Atonement (2007). This British romance from author Ian McEwan follows the life of Briony Tallis and her family. As a young girl, she irrevocably changes the course of several lives after accusing her older sister’s lover of a crime he didn’t commit. The Tallis family lives on a beautiful English estate, complete with sprawling gardens and a fountain that plays heavily into the storyline. Stars include James McAvoy and Keira Knightley.
More after the jump…
2. Green Card (1990). Andie MacDowell stars as Bronte Parrish, a New Yorker and horticulturist whose dream is to find the money to build beautiful gardens around the city. She has a great flat complete with a greenhouse, but unfortunately, the lease specifies that only married couples can live there. Thank goodness for George Faure (Gerard Depardieu), a Frenchman who needs a green card — and thus, a wife. To convince the immigration officers they’re in love, these two opposites move in together. One of my favorite scenes is when a distressed Bronte turns to her greenhouse garden and starts mindlessly potting up plants to take her mind off her troubles.
3. Howard’s End (1992). Most of the Merchant-Ivory films include a garden of some sort, and this one is no exception. The story is about social classes in England at the beginning of the century, including a beautifully gardened estate called “Howard’s End.”
4. A Walk in the Clouds (1995). Not a garden per se, but this movie starring Keanu Reeves and Aitana Sánchez-Gijón features a beautiful old-world vineyard that takes your breath away. Well, the love story and Keanu Reeves help, too.
5. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000). Ang Lee’s lovely film is set against 19th-century China’s breathtaking landscape and gardens. One of the most stunning scenes - which still has people talking - is where the main characters “fly” above a forest, fighting their way along the treetops. I still don’t know how they did it!
Other garden-themed movies mentioned by friends: The Secret Garden, Steel Magnolias, and The Constant Gardener.
Now it’s YOUR turn! What are your favorite garden movies?
Images: Atonement, Focus Features, 2007; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Sony Pictures Classics, 2000.
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