Under the Tuscan Sun (2003)

Why so much hype?

Fantastic!

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

I love so many types of movies... and this is one of my all time favorites! Never really knew or cared about Diane Lane until I saw this wonderful movie. I also gained a lot of sentiment for Sandra Oh after watching this film. Anyone who loves to travel to foreign destinations, in this case Italy, and for anyone who is a believer in fate, being in the right place at the right time and divine intervention will absolutely love "Under The Tuscan Sun." This movie is so uplifting, very inspirational and fully encouraging for the person who may be facing major life struggles, feeling displaced in life and in need of an extraordinary life change! Highly recommended... I guarantee you will watch this movie more than once!

I try to write a little on every film I see. My sister recommended this to me and so my wife and I watched it. The hard thing for me is the self-indulgent rich person who is searching for herself, trying to get herself moving forward after her ex- done her in. She has so much money that she can do just about anything she wants. I never found a connection to any of the people in this film, partly because we are so unalike and partly because I felt they didn't deserve much attention. It's hard to pull for character who are rolling through life, feasting on what is there. I do admit that this part of Italy is gorgeous. The cinematographer did a marvelous job of producing images of sun and architecture and all that this part of the world has to offer. After I saw the film, however, I had to think hard to remember what happened.

Under the Tuscan Sun's storyline was a beautiful account of a young woman moving on to new adventures and an unexpected lifestyle in the gorgeous countryside of Italy. Diane Lane did a wonderful job bringing this character to life on the big screen and her portrayal of the endearing main character was a thorough joy. Slapstick comedy during the renovations to the old villa and the endearing characteristics of the Italian people were wonderful additions and the romantic element was enough to make your soul sigh. The scenery in this movie grabbed my heart and wouldn't let go and was the impetus for my husband and I to set off on our own adventures to discover those picturesque Etruscan towns perched high on the hillsides of Tuscany. Thanks to this movie the streets and people of Cortona now feature on the pages of my own novel "Silken Images" under my pen name Jennifer Larmar. Like Frances Mayer, my heart was captivated by this fascinating little town with stories of its residents still resounding in my spirit years later. A thoroughly enjoyable movie, perfect for a rainy day snuggled under the covers with a good wine and hopefully the love of your life beside you.

I've been using for a while a rating system that considers a "Watchability Factor", Acting and plot... The rating system goes from 1 to 10, with 5 points given to the "watchability factor", 2 for the acting and 3 for the plot.The scoring works as follows:Watchability Factor 5 - Spectacular! Worth watching over and over again4 - Outstanding… will watch several times 3 - Really good movie… will watch more than once 2 - Good movie… may watch more than once 1 - OK movie... but once is enough.Acting 2 - spectacular, Oscar worthy 1 - Really good, enhanced the plot0 - movie wasn't about the actingPlot 3 - Spectacular, nothing else like it in the genre, nominated for Best Picture (Oscars) 2 - Makes you think well after, unique 1 - Interesting idea / story 0 - Run of the millUnder the Tuscan Sun??? Three points for "watchability", one for acting and zero for plot... for a total of 4 out of ten. Just your typical feel good story...