The Europeans (1979)

Directed by

James Ivory

Genre

drama film

Country

United Kingdom, United States

Runtime

1h 30m

Rated

PG

Rating

5.6 of 10 from 29 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

In the 1850s, two European siblings visit their wealthy American cousins in New England. Their worldly manners unsettle and fascinate the puritanical relatives. The story contrasts Old World sophistication with New World simplicity.

leisurelyobservationalwryunderstatedperiod texturegenteelpoised

What happens

The Europeans is a 1979 British Merchant Ivory film, directed by James Ivory, produced by Ismail Merchant, and with a screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, based on Henry James's novel The Europeans (1878). It stars Lee Remick, Robin Ellis, Tim Woodward and Lisa Eichhorn. It was the first of Merchant Ivory's triptych of Henry James adaptations. It was followed by The Bostonians in 1984 and The Golden Bowl in 2001. The plot follows the interaction between two European siblings and their American cousins. Facing hard times in Europe, Eugenia, a baroness by marriage, and her younger, artistic brother arrived for the first time in New England in the 1850s to meet their wealthy maternal uncle and their three cousins, the Wentworths. Their bohemian sophistication and alien ways dazzle some of their puritanical American relations and arouse suspicion in others. The Europeans was the first of Merchant Ivory's period dramas, the genre for which they became best known. Despite being on a modest budget, it featured lavish costumes and sets. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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