Paris in July: Jane Austen Wrecked My Life

I have seen quite a few French movies over the last 12 months, and enjoyed most of them. If you forced me to pick my favourite it would probably be Jane Austen Wrecked My Life. I first saw it at the French Film Festival earlier this year and the went to see it again this week just because I could!

The main character, Agate, lives with her sister and nephew in Paris and works in Shakespeare and Company bookshop along with her best friend Felix. She is a massive Jane Austen fan and can find a JA recommendation for any occasion. Agate is also a writer, albeit one with writers block. She has ideas for stories but she can't ever get past the beginning to get to the middle or the end. 

One day Felix reads the first couple of chapters of her latest story and thinks it is so good he sends it off as an application for Agate to attend the Jane Austen Residency Writers Retreat in England. The first Agate knows of it is when she receives the acceptance, which of course she initially refuses. Agate has quite a few anxieties, often for good reason, like not liking travelling in cars, and she hasn't had a sexual relationship for years.

Agate and Felix's relationship has always been platonic. She knows all his bad habits with women, but just before she gets on the ferry to go to England, they kiss. When she arrives on the other side of the channel, she is met by Oliver who just happens to be Jane Austen's handsome great-great-great-great nephew (I might have the wrong number of great's there but you get the idea!). However, Agate and Oliver get off on the wrong foot when Oliver makes it very clear that he thinks Jane Austen is overrated! 

At the retreat Agate and all the attending writers are encouraged to take inspiration however they can, whether it be wandering the gardens, or writing in the library. One of the main events of the retreat is that they all get to go to a ball dressed in era appropriate clothes. Initially the group are very much set in their individual ways, but gradually some of them begin to build connections. Can Agate find a way to break through her writers block and finally complete a story? And can she let down some of the walls she has built around herself? 

Along the way, there are a few unfortunate and funny incidents along with some great scenes talking about books and reading, a bit of a love triangle which ultimately is a nice romance, and it does show that the influence of Jane Austen is felt across the centuries and the world. 

The story is told in a mixture of both French and English. I thought it was a really lovely romantic comedy. Here's the trailer: