Director James Ivory (Remains of the Day, Room with a View, Howard’s End), in his first film since the death of his producing partner Ishmael Merchant, collaborates with his long-time screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, and cinematographer Javier Aquirresarobe (The Sea Inside, Talk to Her). Like his others, his new film, based on Peter Cameron’s 2002 novel, is a charming, sophisticated, intelligent, and gorgeous drama. Omar is a graduate student whose continuing financial aid depends on him getting published; he lied to his committee that the estate of a Latin American author has agreed to let him write a biography; in fact they rejected him. His girlfriend urges him to travel to Uruguay, unannounced, to plead his case to the family (played by Anthony Hopkins, Laura Linney, and Charlotte Gainsbourgh) hoping to change their minds; once there, he becomes entwined into a web of secrets, complicated relationships and unexpected romance.