I saw a news item (via the TDA blog) that there will soon be a remake of the Italian film, Pane e tulipani (“Bread and Tulips”). Anna and I picked up the original film at our local library a few months ago and it’s a sweet, quirky comedy. It centers on an underappreciated mother who’s stranded by her family while on vacation, so she goes to Venice. There, she finds a job with a florist, cultivates a friendship with a depressed waiter, and takes up the accordion.
The upcoming American version — titled The Accordion — switches the setting from Venice to post-Katrina New Orleans. (Maybe the accordion will be a Cajun-style button box?) The director is Norman Jewison (Moonstruck and Agnes of God) and Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives) will star.
Knowing Hollywood, though, they’ll probably ruin everything I enjoyed about the original film. On the bright side, the advertising campaign should at least help teach people the proper spelling of “accordion.” (“Accordian,” be gone!)