A film that begins and ends in Paris, specifically and primarily in the Shakespeare & Co. Bookstore, and in between ferries the viewer away to the English countryside (more on the actual filming location later in this post), the home of Jane Austen. Oh! And then to Bergeronnette, the French name for the island of Guernsey located in the English Channel.

Yes, I am talking about Laura Piani’s Jane Austen a Gaûché Ma Vie also known as Jane Austen Wrecked My Life, and already the French are crowning it with awards. Laura Piani both wrote and directed the film, and recently won the award for Meilleur Premier Film (Best First Film) at the Cabourg Film Festival in France.

The film was originally released in France back in February, and just recently started to play at movie houses here in the states. Reviewer after reviewer is praising it for honoring Jane Austen’s story-telling of a strong female lead with thoughtful, sometimes humorous moments, but all set in the everyday life of the protagonist trying to figure out the language of the heart.

French actor Camille Rutherford stars as Agathe, a bookish sort who lives in Paris with her sister and nephew after having lost their parents a handful of years ago in a car accident in which Agathe was in the vehicle and somehow survived. She has never wanted to get back in a car again, let alone drive to England (via ferry of course) to attend a writer’s retreat at the home of one of Jane Austen’s relatives many generations down the line.

However, as we know, she does go with the urging of her friend Felix (with benefits from time to time) played by Pablo Pauly who also works with her as an employee at Shakespeare & Co. Upon arriving she reconsiders their friendship and wonders if she has dismissed him as a suitor, and of course this is where Jane Austen’s classic tension comes to the forefront.

Enter Charlie Anson who stars as Oliver, the great, great nephew of Jane Austen (I think I have the correct number of ‘greats’), who presents a dilemma for Agathe that she had not considered. He is a professor of writing and prefers contemporary works, she is a writer. He has read her submission which landed her the opportunity to come to the retreat and found it laudable. Along the way, there are two llamas, and as Agathe muddles through her romantic confusion, they too try to shake her awake to the best decision. I will leave you to discover what they do and then do not do. Hilarity and endearment on stage, thus why they are in the film’s poster peering through the window.

With an ensemble supporting cast that makes all of us want to be a writer so we can while away our days out in the countryside to write, create and sip tea while gazing out the window whilst it rains, this film gradually leads us to remember why slowing down, pondering, creating, letting ourselves feel our way without rushing is often a gift we have to give ourselves.

Funny enough, while the scenes in England look indeed like England, everything was filmed in France, even the ferry scenes which both – her arrival and departures were filmed in the Dunkirk region.

I delighted in watching this film and look forward to watching it again and then most definitely again and again. Rutherford is a treasure to watch on screen and her ease of being relaxed, perplexed, goofy and true of strength to share her character’s feelings without attack are wonderfully done.

If you have already watched the film and would like to find the poem that was read in the concluding scene, the director and writer Laura Piani shares it on her IG account here. Have a look at the trailer below and look for it in theaters now – click here to see where it is playing near you.

~Explore more of TSLL’s French-Inspired Petits Plaisirs here, and all Petits Plaisirs here.