Red Obsession

The footage of Bordeaux is awe-inspiring, with aerial shots of the great chateaux and the vineyards. Closeups of the labels from the different chateaux abound, along with luscious shots of glimmering wine being poured. The obsessive nature of the entire industry is reflected in these shots, a good marriage of theme and form.

Offers the ins and outs of the world of wine as an implicit metaphor for art appreciation, from both aesthetic and financial standpoints.

Documentaries by their nature are prisoners of their moment in time. If they are fortunate, as the makers of Red Obsession are, that moment, even if it's brief, will be able to hold our interest.

The film’s rather simplistic cultural juxtapositions, pitting artistic appreciators against status-seeking philistines, work best when narrowly focused on the subject of wine.

Fittingly, it’s finally a film about transience and continuity.

The doc affords us a look into a world rarely seen by the lumpenproletariat, though we could have done with fewer aerial/time-lapse shots and more history.

Photographed with an alluring sheen that complements the coldly commercial wheelings and dealings of its subjects, Red Obsession fascinatingly reveals how Old World vintner artistry is being shaken up by New World supply and demand.