I made my first post a list of food-related films (and at the same time committed to making two lists of my favourite films every month). I then set about making a list of my Top 3 films on drink and drinking.

Having immersed myself in booze films for nearly a fortnight, it is clear to me that I should not do this in a single list: there are films that, for want of a better word, celebrate drink and there are films about alcoholism. And like the best scotch whisky, these lists are best not blended. So this list is on the lighter side of the subject, and the list which will follow in a fortnight’s time will take an altogether darker route.

Just as the vast majority of my chosen films about food were actually about a whole host of things other than food, so my favourite films about drink are really about family, love, friendship, grief, midlife crises, and so on. There are films actually about drinking, but these tended to be about groups of youngish men who have a great time getting drunk, but watching these films proved about as interesting as being the nominated driver on a marathon pub crawl. So not only will they not make the list, but they will not even get a mention.

So, here are my  my Top 3 films about drink and drinking (the Grand Crus), together with a note of a small group of films which are also worth tasting:

(1)        Another Round

Thomas Vinterberg’s 2020 film is not entirely on the lighter side, and I did consider whether it should appear in my next list, however it is certainly a comedy-drama and to me the celebratory elements of the positive effects of drink, such as confidence and self-esteem, won out. Its deft, artful direction is reminiscent of Vinterberg’s earlier masterpieces, Festen and The Hunt. It follows four schoolteachers experimenting with a philosophical theory on the benefits of maintaining a consistent blood-alcohol level. But these men are all firmly in midlife crisis territory and as they up the level of the experiment, so the various issues in their personal and professional lives are brought to the fore. Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Magnus Millang and Lars Ranthe are uniformly excellent in their roles and Mikkelsen is quite wonderful in the final scene. The film was nominated for a whole host of awards and amongst others, won a total of seven best International/non-English language film awards, including both the Oscar and the BAFTA.

(2)        Sideways

Directed by Alexander Payne in 2004, Sideways is something of a cult classic. It is another mid-life crisis film, this time about a road trip through the Santa Barbara wine country. The protagonists are depressed teacher/writer Miles (Paul Giamatti) and Jack (Thomas Haden Church), a washed-up actor, and the aim of their trip is to celebrate Jack’s forthcoming marriage. This is a complex film: at times light and charming, at times deep and thoughtful and at times very, very funny indeed. Interestingly, it had a real impact on the US wine industry, with sales of Merlot falling 2% following the film’s release and demand for Pinot Noir rising a staggering 16%. If you see the film you will understand why: or you could just drink the wine!

(3)        Back to Burgundy

This 2017 French drama film, directed (and co-written) by Cedric Klapisch, tells the story of three siblings coming to terms with the death of their father. The eldest son, Jean, returns home to France after an absence of ten years, which resulted from his inability to get on with his father; his sister Juliette has stayed working with her father on the family’s vineyard; their younger brother has married and works with his father-in-law on a large wine-making estate nearby. The film follows the next year of their lives as they reconnect and confront their grief, the practicalities of inheritance, and find a way forward. It is about loyalty, rivalry, grief and everything that makes up family relationships. But it is also about wine-making and if you watch it you will learn something of the complexities of making fine French wines. I love this film – I have it on DVD and watch it every couple of years!

And the Honourable Mentions …

The following films are those that came very, very close to making my Top 3, but did not quite get there (the ’bit’), listed in alphabetical order:

The Angel’s Share

This 2012 film is proof that champion for social justice Ken Loach (and writer Paul Laverty) can do funny. Set in the low-level-criminal underworld of Glasgow, it follows Robbie, a young ne’er-do-well who begins the film having narrowly escaped a custodial sentence, instead receiving a term of community service (known as community payback in Scotland). Half-way through his first shift he is called in to hospital where his girlfriend has given birth to their son. He promises to go straight and become a decent law-abiding citizen, but with all his baggage that is far from easy. His salvation comes in the form of learning to appreciate whisky, encouraged by his Payback Supervisor Harry. The film is funny, and the characters are very likeable, although there is a scene with a victim of Robbie’s previous self in a Restorative Justice meeting that leaves you in no doubt of the damage which he has inflicted in the past. However, the film works well, there is a great cameo role for Roger Allam, and it finishes with The Proclaimers’ 500 Miles – what’s not to like?

Another Year

Mike Leigh’s 2010 comedy-drama, Another Time, shows a year in the marriage of Tom and Jerry, played by Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen. The marriage is a very happy one, which serves to highlight just how unfulfilled and unhappy all their friends seem to be. And whilst alcohol plays a significant part in all their lives, for some it becomes a vicious cycle: the more unhappy they are, the more they drink, the unhappier they seem to become. As for Tom and Jerry, they seem as chilled and easy going as it is possible to be – the perfect friends to have; but when they sense betrayal, especially when it concerns their family, they are both quick to defend those they love. As with most Leigh films, this is a film about details, the tiny nuances which make up everyday life. A joy to watch.

Last Orders

This 2001 drama, written and directed by Fred Schepisi, is based on the 1996 Booker prize-winning novel by Graham Swift. Much of the film is set in and around the Coach and Horses, a South London pub frequented by recently-deceased local butcher Jack Dodds, played by Michael Caine. Jack’s last orders were to have his ashes scattered in Margate. His son and his drinking mates set off from the Coach and Horses heading for Margate to carry out his wishes, and Jack’s life-story is told in flash-back whilst they travel through darkest Kent, with one or two necessary stops by the wayside. The excellent cast, which includes Tom Courtenay, Bob Hoskins, David Hemmings, Ray Winstone and Helen Mirren do justice to Graham Swift’s fine novel … almost! Well worth the effort.

Whisky Galore!

This 1949 Ealing Comedy, directed by Alexander Mackendrick, was adapted from the 1947 novel by Compton Mackenzie, who co-wrote the screenplay with Angus MacPhail. Interestingly, both Mackenzie and MacPhail were English, and Mackendrick was born in the United States, however he relocated to Scotland at just eight years old to live with his grandfather, so at least there is some Scottish blood involved in this most Scottish of films. The story relates to the shipwreck of a cargo vessel on the shores of the small (fictional) Hebridean island of Todday, and the local community’s efforts first at salvaging the cargo of whisky and secondly at hiding their ill-gotten gains from HM Customs and Excise. James Robertson Justice appears as the island’s doctor and there is an interesting early role for a 25-year-old Gordon Jackson. This film was missed from my original post, and I watched it at the recommendation of ‘Whiskey Nut’ (see comments below) – it is a lot of fun and is well worthy of its place in the Honourable Mentions.

So having turned my original idea of a Top 7 into a Top 3 and a Bit for my Food post, I have now turned my drink post into two posts – I guess that double-vision is a natural result of all that drinking.

And the rest…

I must give a special mention to a film with a drinking title, that is not really about drinking, as such: 35 Shots of Rum. Claire Denis’s 2008 drama is a lovely slow burn about a close father-daughter relationship, where the mother died many years previously. They live in an apartment building alongside an old flame of the father and a young man who has a somewhat complicated romantic attachment to the daughter. I cannot add any detail about the plot without spoiling it – you will just have to watch it for yourselves. So why am I mentioning it here? Simply because the 35 shots of rum in the title relates to a drinking ritual (although possibly one which the father has invented himself), and drinking rituals, another example being a yard of ale, can be very important in some cultures, sometimes as rites of passage and sometimes, as here, to mark special occasions. Also, I have to mention it, because it is a brilliant film!

So, what else did I watch/rewatch in reaching my list? The following films were also considered, but were ultimately the vin ordinaire of the bunch:

• From the Vine – an unfunny comedy, instantly forgettable
• Uncorked (2009) – clichéd romantic nonsense – requires a strong stomach
• Uncorked (2020) – much better than the 2009 vintage – the only similarity is the name, but still rather formulaic
• Withnail and I – a cult classic I know, but really, there just isn’t enough ‘body’

I had an interesting week, and now feel a bit hungover, but that was only to be expected. I will be back in a fortnight with the darker side of drinking – my Top 3 films about alcoholism.

I am sure I have missed films on booze, so if you have anything you think I should watch or that may deserve a place in the “Top 3 and a Few More” please let me know. I will endeavour to find them and watch them.