Paris Can Wait

Octogenarian Eleanor Coppola—wife of legendary director Francis Ford, mother of filmmaker Sofia—helmed this wish-fulfillment fantasy, which was inspired by an impromptu spree from Cannes to Paris with her husband's flirty French associate in 2009. Traveling with her workaholic American film-producer husband (Alec Baldwin), Anne Lockwood (Diane Lane) develops an earache. So she forgoes flying with him to Budapest and instead accepts the offer of his colleague Jacques (Arnaud Viard) to make the seven-hour drive to Paris. Attentive, fun-loving Jacques stretches their picturesque journey into a meandering, two-and-a-half day sojourn. A charming raconteur and wily gourmet, Jacques insists on stopping at every superb restaurant and scenic spot along the way, although he has to borrow Anne's credit card to pay the bills. Anne is dazzled by the lush fields of aromatic lavender and Roman-built aqueducts, but when Jacques insists that they visit the birthplace of cinema—Place Lumiere in Lyon—Anne realizes that the docent is one of his many former lovers. That revelation opens up an interesting conversation as they begin to talk about their personal lives. An avid photographer, Anne digitally documents what interests her and drives her passions, slowly emerging from a dutiful, complacent wife role into a greater understanding of her own individuality and creativity. Although Lane shines, this is ultimately a fairly slight tale. Optional. (S. Granger)