ALFONSO ARAU

Bil’s rating (out of 5):   BB.5

USA/Mexico, 1995.  Twentieth Century Fox, Zucker Brothers Productions.  Screenplay by Robert Mark Kamen, Mark Miller, Harvey Weitzman, based on the story and screenplay Quattro Passi fra le Nuvole by Piero Tellini, Cesare Zavattini, Vittorio de Benedetti.  Cinematography by Emmanuel Lubezki.  Produced by Gil Netter, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker.  Music by Maurice Jarre.  Production Design by David Gropman.  Costume Design by Judy L. Raskin.  Film Editing by Don Zimmerman.  

A soldier (Keanu Reeves) returns home to California after World War II only to find his wife (Debra Messing) uninterested and unmarried. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, he hits the road, bumping into a beautiful woman (Aitana Sánchez-Gijón) on a bus who is stuck in a conundrum: she’s pregnant, and if she returns to her father without a husband, she knows she’ll be run out of town in a second.

Deciding that he has nothing better to do with his time, the soldier decides to pose as the happy groom, having no idea that soon enough his affections for the woman will become real.

Lovingly photographed on the majestic vineyard estate that the family lives on and full of marvelous supporting characters (particularly a jovial Anthony Quinn), this is a pretty standard romance that is sunk into the depths by Reeves’ reliably blockheaded performance. Sanchez Gijon fares somewhat better, but even she is more complex and interesting in the Spanish films she has made in Europe after this breakthrough success.

Golden Globe Award:  Best Original Score