Cinema Bambino: Jane Austen Wrecked My Life

In Laura Piani’s charming and witty debut, an aspiring author looking to get more out of life takes up a writing residency and finds herself in the sort of romantic entanglements that could come from the pages of a Jane Austen novel.

As a clerk in a legendary British bookshop in Paris, Agathe (Camille Rutherford) loves her job. But there are stirrings of discontentment when she realizes how long she has been surrounded by stories of others’ desires and adventures instead of chasing her own. Agathe’s other dream is to become a novelist. Supported by her encouraging best friend Felix (Pablo Pauly), Agathe leaves for a Jane Austen writing residency. Upon arrival, she meets a distant relation of the author, the handsome Oliver Lowe (Charlie Anson). Between the writing obligations and constantly running into the intriguing Mr. Lowe, Agathe’s life has taken a stressful, yet strangely familiar, turn….

In her utterly charming debut, writer-director Laura Piani draws from Austen’s works while crafting a wholly contemporary romantic comedy that stands on its own merits.