L'Amant ( The Lover)

The primary characters are known only as The Young Girl and The Chinaman. The daughter of bitter, fearful, poverty-stricken colonials, the Girl is a pretty waif who wears an old silk dress and a man's fedora and paint her lips bright red when out of her mother's sight. She and her family are French, but live in Vietnam where her mother is a schoolteacher to local children. Her weak-willed mother, violent older brother, and timid younger brother live in a rural section across the river. The girl is a loner but an excellent student, who dreams of being a writer.

She meets the Chinaman when crossing the river on the ferry, returning to the city after a school holiday ended. He is the son of a Chinese businessman whose fortune was made in real estate, and has recently returned from Paris after dropping out of school. He has the look but lacks the self-assurance of the playboy he fancies himself to be, and he is mesmerized the first time he sees her standing by the rail on a crowded ferry crossing the Mekong River. After some awkward conversation, he offers her a ride to Saigon in his chauffeur-driven limousine and she accepts, although the two barely speak during the drive.

The Girl gives her age at the beginning of the film as 15, but lies to The Chinaman by stating that she is 17. He lies to her, telling her he is 32. The following day, he waits for her outside her boarding school, and the two go to the room he rents for entertaining mistresses in the seedy Chinese quarter, where they make love. They realize that "a future together is unthinkable" because she is scheduled to return to Paris soon, and he is arranged to marry a Chinese heiress. Aware of the limited time they have together, they fall into a relationship in which they shed all responsibilities that come with commitment. Every day after school, the girl goes to the bachelor room.

The girl's family discovers the affair, and though at first angry, they encourage her to continue because the Chinaman is wealthy and able to pay off some of their debts. Despite this added tension, the affair continues passionately. The Chinaman even goes so far as to beg his father for the allowance to be with the girl instead of entering into his arranged marriage, but his father would rather see him dead than with a "white girl." Though both devastated, the Chinaman marries his arranged bride, and the girl boards a ship days later to return to France.

Decades later, the girl is a successful writer. The Chinaman telephones her, as he is visiting France with his wife. He assured her that he never stopped loving her, and that he would not stop for the rest of his life.

The Blue Lagoon

The Blue Lagoon is a 1980 American romance and adventure film directed by Randal Kleiser. The screenplay by Douglas Day Stewart was based on the novel The Blue Lagoon by Henry De Vere Stacpoole. The film stars Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins. The original music score was composed by Basil Poledouris and the cinematography was by Néstor Almendros.

The film tells the story of two young children marooned on a tropical island paradise in the South Pacific. With neither the guidance nor the restrictions of society, emotional feelings and physical changes arise as they reach puberty and fall in love.

Shields was only 14 years old at the time of filming and later testified before a U.S. Congressional inquiry that older body doubles were used in some of her nude scenes. Also, throughout the film in frontal shots her breasts were always covered by her long hair or in other ways. It was also stated that Shields's hair was glued to her breasts during many of her topless scenes. The film received a MPAA rating of R.

Forbidden Sins

Considering the pretty advanced soft-porn this film isn't actually half bad. The plot is about the murder of a stripper, a good-looking and filthy rich male prime suspect who hires a stunning female super- lawyer to defend him not only in court but also against a bent cop who also happens to be the ex-husband of the lawyer. Seen it before? Yes and no, because the script avoids most of the normal Hollywood clichés in the sense that just when you think you can tell what´s going to happen next it doesn't. Unfortunately most of the actors are not as good as the twists of the script and although they may look their parts most of them can't act them. Finally, if you do not like explicit sex- scenes, and I do not mean the "Basic instinct" and "Sliver"-league, this film is not for you. On the other hand if you do like watching beautiful people involved in sado-masochistic sex-play, which actually fits into the plot, then it is.

May be... May be Not

Much of the dialog in this very funny German film was taken directly from the two gay comic books by underground cartoonist Ralf Koenig on which the movie was based. Though the comics were written from a gay perspective, the film is slanted towards heterosexual couples. It tells the story of Axel, a handsome hunk with a taste for cheating on his girl friend Doro.

When she throws him out, he ends up staying with his gay friend Norbert who is terribly attracted to Axel. Norbert is too shy to act upon his desire, and so, suffers in silence. Doro, upon visiting the two, becomes suspicious and wonders if Axel is also gay. Her suspicions about the naive Axel do not abate, even after her "shot-gun" wedding to him.

Secunda Piel ( Second Skin)

The film is about a couple from Madrid, Elena (Ariadna Gil) and Alberto (Jordi Molla). They have a happy marriage, professional success and a loving son. But later, Elena finds a hotel receipt in Alberto's pocket and discovers that he has been unfaithful to her. To her surprise, the one who has been involved is another man, Diego (Javier Bardem). Alberto is struggling both to save his marriage and to forget his feelings for Diego, but he fails. Finally, everything comes to an end when Elena confronts Diego, who did not know Alberto was married, and kicks Alberto out of the house. Leaving Diego's home after a fight, Alberto is killed in an accident.

The movie ends with Elena and Diego becoming friends.

Beau Pere ( The Step Father)

The movie revolves around a never-reached-his-potential piano player, Remy and his struggles with, first, his failing marriage...then his wife's untimely demise and finally the infatuation that his 14-year old step daughter has developed for him.

Patrick Dewaere's character, Remy can never catch a break. He struggles for cash and his lack of motivation dogs him constantly. His role as stepfather to a budding woman is just another obstacle he faces in his downtrodden path. Ariel Besse plays a 14-year old girl. Maurice Ronet is a man about town but has also lost focus.

Remy is morose, nearing 30 with his career as a musician going nowhere and his eight-year marriage to Martine souring. Then, Martine dies in a car crash, and Marion, her 14-year-old, wants to stay rather than move to her father's. Remy likes the idea: he loves her, he's raised her, and she offers him emotional responsibility. Marion's father objects, but she's willful, so he relents. Soon, she tells Remy she finds him attractive, that she's now "a woman," and why can't they be lovers. Remy is appalled, but weakens, missing her when she spends Christmas with her dad. What if they do become lovers? What next? And what if a women more his age enters the picture?

Breaking the Girls

Sara and Alex become best friends after a chance meeting at a bar. As they become closer, they conspire to kill each other's respective enemy. As the sexual tension between them escalates and they embark on their murderous pact, events begin to unravel with unpredictable consequences, in a twisted tale of seduction, deception and betrayal. This movie has a Lesbian theme, but the surprised ending is worth your time.

Just a Question of Love (JQA)

Just a Question of Love (French: Juste une question d'amour) is a 2000 French-Belgian drama television film by Christian Faure that premiered on France. It follows the romance of two young gay men, Laurent (Cyrille Thouvenin) and Cédric (Stéphan Guérin-Tillié), who conflict over whether Laurent should come out to his parents. The film was watched by 6.3 million viewers when it first aired.

The Loves and Life of Oscar Wilde

After Part 1, clicked Part 2 upper left of the video screen. After Part 2, do the same procedure for Part 3, 4 and 5 until the end which is part 6. Enjoy!

Note: Today is my 78th Birthday. I thank the Lord for all his Blessings. In addition my special thanks to all my readers of this blog. I hope you help support it, by clicking on the ads.

Why Not Me?

Why Not Me? (French: Pourquoi pas moi?) is a 1999 French comedy film written and directed by Stéphane Giusti. It is about a group of gay French friends living in Barcelona who decide to have a dinner party and come out to their parents.

"Pourquoi Pas Moi" ("Why Not Me?"), is such a lovely film which depicts a five young people who work together at a provincial French publishing cooperative. Three lesbians, a straight girl, and a most charming gay guy. Only one of the five is "out" with her family, and her activist mother decides to invite the five for a weekend at her country house at the same time as their parents.

This is the recipe for a very special get together, and the parents end up being just as interesting and as their offspring. The film develops into the kind of warm, witty farce, which the French seem to master so well.

The director, Stephane Giusti, is really talented and can be compared to Spain's Pedro Almodovar. A refreshing naivety, strong cast performances, and a surprisingly well-rounded act by Johnny Hallyday have made this film one of my all time favorites

Dreamscape

Psychic Alex Gardner (Dennis Quaid) was the 19-year-old prime subject of a scientific research project documenting his psychic ability, but in the midst of the study he disappeared and has since been using his talents solely for personal gain, which lately consists mainly of gambling and womanizing. After running afoul of a local gangster/extortionist named Snead (Redmond Gleeson), Gardner evades two of Snead's thugs by allowing himself to be taken by two men, Finch (Peter Jason) and Babcock (Chris Mulkey) who identify themselves as being from an academic institution.

At the institution, Alex is reunited with his former mentor Dr. Paul Novotny (Max von Sydow) who is now involved in government-funded psychic research. Novotny, aided by fellow scientist Jane DeVries (Kate Capshaw), has developed a technique that allows psychics to voluntarily link with the minds of others by projecting themselves into the subconscious during REM sleep (i.e., while they are dreaming).

Alex is blackmailed into joining Novotny’s project that he (Novotny) intended to use for a benevolent purpose as a clinic to diagnose and treat sleep disorders, particularly in the form of nightmares, but the project has been hijacked by Bob Blair (Christopher Plummer), a powerful government agent with possible CIA ties, though it is never clearly revealed in the film. Alex eventually discovers that he is actually involved in a U.S. government-funded project to use this dream-linking technique for assassination.

Before the plot is revealed, Alex gains experience helping a man worried about his wife’s infidelity and taking over the case of a young boy named Buddy (Cory Yothers) who’s plagued with nightmares so terrible that a previous psychic lost his mind in an attempt to help Buddy. Buddy's nightmare bogeyman involves a large snakeman which later becomes a weakness for Alex. Alex is caught invading Jane's dream.

A subplot involving Alex and Jane’s growing infatuation culminates with him sneaking into Jane's dream without the use of the machine that is a part of the process, a point Jane does not realize at first because she is too angry that Alex was able to have sex with her in her dream. With the help of a novelist named Charlie Prince (George Wendt), who has been covertly investigating the project for the basis of a new book, Alex learns of Blair’s sinister intentions. Tommy Ray Glatman, dream assassin.

Prince and Novotny are both murdered to silence them; things get worse when the President of the United States (Eddie Albert) is admitted as a patient and Alex’s colleague Tommy Ray Glatman (David Patrick Kelly), a psychopath who (as Alex discovers) shot and killed his own father, is sent into the President's nightmare by Blair in an attempt to assassinate the President. Blair considers the President a threat to national security due to the President's nightmares of a post apocalyptic world, which represent his fears and becomes cause for his wishing to enter unfavorable negotiations for nuclear disarmament.

Alex and Jane manage to get close enough to the President’s room for Alex to project himself into the President's dream and save him: after a fight in which Glatman rips out a police officer's heart, attempts to incite a mob of nuclear attack victims to attack the President, and battles Alex in the form of the snake-monster from Buddy's dream, Alex assumes the appearance of Glatman's murdered father (Eric Gold) in order to distract him, allowing the President to ram a spear into Glatman's back, killing him. The President is grateful to Alex but reluctant to confront Blair, who apparently holds a truly powerful position in the government. To protect himself and Jane, Alex enters Blair’s dream and murders him before Blair can bring about any sort of retribution.

The film ends with Jane and Alex boarding a train to Louisville, Kentucky, intent on making their previous dream encounter a reality. Encountering the ticket conductor from Jane's dream gives them a moment of pause.

The Concubine

Set during the early Joseon Dynasty, the film begins with the queen mother and former concubine (Park Ji-young) in a precarious position of having no blood ties to the childless king (Jung Chan). She schemes to replace him on the throne with his stepbrother and her submissive young son Seong-won (Kim Dong-wook). Indifferent to his mother’s plans, the timid prince falls in love at first sight with Hwa-yeon (Jo Yeo-jeong), an aristocrat’s daughter, who has already found love with Kwon-yoo (Kim Min-joon), a commoner.

When her father decides to send her to the royal palace as a concubine, the two lovers try to elope but are caught after their first night together. She only gives in to parental demands in quid pro quo for his life.

Five years later, Hwa-yeon has become the queen after producing a male heir. This infuriates the queen mother and breaks the hearts of both Prince Seong-won and Kwon-yoo, who later joins the royal palace as a eunuch for the queen mother's brother and nemesis. The king is eventually poisoned to death by the queen mother, who is desperate to be in power. She sits her son, Prince Seong-won, on the throne as a puppet king, giving the ruthless matriarch firm control over the royal court. Hwa-yeon is moved to a closely watched humble residence, with the queen mother planning to assassinate Hwa-yeon and her son to secure her position in the palace. Upon finding out she and her son are in danger, Hwa-yeon gradually becomes monstrously ambitious, using everyone around her, including her castrated former lover Kwon-yoo and now-King Seong-won ― as tools for her own survival.

The Mindhunters

The titular Mindhunters are a group of young FBI students who are undergoing training as profilers. They travel with their instructor Jake Harris (Val Kilmer) to a small island off the coast of Virginia in order to complete a profiling exercise. The island is used as a training facility by the FBI and the military where a mock town has been constructed. Harris has arranged an elaborate training scenario for his students whereby their mission is to create a profile of a serial killer who has committed a murder in the town.

The students include Bobby (Eion Bailey), a young man with a talent for fixing things; Vince (Clifton Collins Jr.), a wheelchair-using ex-cop who goes nowhere without his gun; Nicole (Patricia Velasquez), a smoker who is attempting to quit; Sara (Kathryn Morris), a talented but insecure profiler who is also petrified of drowning; Gabe (LL Cool J, listed as James Todd Smith), an outside observer; Rafe (Will Kemp), a very intelligent, caffeine-powered British investigator; Lucas (Jonny Lee Miller), a supposedly fearless man whose parents were killed when he was a child; and J.D. (Christian Slater), their leader and Nicole's lover.

They arrive on the island and commence their investigation the following day. The group encounters an elaborate, Rube Goldberg or Heath Robinson style trap. J.D.'s position as leader of the group prompts him to investigate it more closely. Convinced that this was not an accident, the group heads to the dock to leave the island. They fear that a killer is on the island with them. Their actions trigger another trap, this one destroying the boat they were going to use in order to escape. While recuperating from the last trap, Rafe makes some coffee which turns out to be drugged, knocking everyone out. They come to discover that Rafe has been decapitated and exsanguinated while unconscious and that the killer has painted an elaborate group of numerical ciphers using Rafe's drained blood.

At first, suspicions seem to point to Gabe. He temporarily deflects this when he saves Vince from yet another trap. Later, the results of a blood analysis collected from scraped skin samples found under Rafe's fingernails point to Sara, who denies being the killer; Lucas supports her. Nicole ultimately decides she cannot trust any of her colleagues and leaves while holding the others at gunpoint, resulting in her death; the stress of the situation causes her to relapse into her smoking addiction and while walking outside, she finds spontaneously vended pack of cigarettes.

She steps out to smoke one and quickly learns that it has been laced with a strong acid, which eats her alive from the inside as Gabe and Lucas stare on in horror. Sara, meanwhile, finally deduces that the traps are based on their strengths, talents, and weaknesses and the remaining profilers elect to stick together, to keep an eye on each other. Unexpectedly, the island's speakers begin to broadcast a taunting message from none other than Harris, making them realize that he did not leave the island, though he led the profilers to believe that he had; convinced that he has been the killer all along, they search for him. Later, however, Sara, Gabe and Lucas find Harris and two other FBI agents next to him, all dead; Harris has been strung up to wires from the ceiling as a sort of marionette, just like the fake crime scene that they were to investigate. The three survivors quickly realize that the killer is one of them, and in the shootout that ensues, Gabe seemingly takes out Lucas. At the same time, Vince manages to crawl to the elevator but hears someone coming toward him.

He fires his gun (he always keeps it handy after having been shot earlier as a cop) at the stranger, but it has been tampered with by the killer and explosively misfires, sending shards into his face and arm. Gabe and Sara then confront each other, each believing the other to be the serial killer. Lucas, who was wearing a bullet-proof vest, returns and jumps Gabe from behind. The two violently attack one another, eventually falling through a glass ceiling. Gabe starts to get up but is knocked unconscious by Sara, who then begins to tend to Lucas. Lucas muses that Sara has another weakness besides a fear of water: "Me". Lucas tries to drown Sara, but she manages to kick him into the water and an underwater gunfight ensues. In the end, after a feigned drowning, Sara gains the upper hand and wounds Lucas. Intending to survive, Lucas begins to taunt her about the evidence he planted blaming her, until Gabe reappears: he is the last witness. In a last desperate effort, Lucas attempts to regain his weapon, forcing Sara to kill him.

The film ends with Sara and Gabe flagging down a helicopter together. As they move to board, Sara wonders whether or not she has achieved profiler status.

Benjamin-The Diary of A Virgin

This is BENJAMIN, OR THE DIARY OF A VIRGIN ("Benjamin, ou les mémoires d'un puceau"), a 1968 French comedy directed by Michel Deville. It stars Michèle Morgan, Michel Piccoli, Pierre Clémenti and Catherine Deneuve.

Set in 18th-century France, BENJAMIN tells the story of a 17-year-old orphan of noble birth who is taken by his aunt, the Countess de Valandry, to live at her chateau where he learns the pleasures of lovemaking from a variety of women. The series of young ladies do their best to deflower Benjamin, but never quite succeed, until...

A reunion of sorts for Deneuve, Piccoli and Clémenti, who'd appeared together in Luis Bunel's "Belle de Jour", BENJAMIN was released as "The Diary of an Innocent Boy" in the USA, where it garnered an 'X' rating. Pauline Kael in "The New Yorker" called it a "delicate masterpiece of voluptuous physical grace and refined libertinage".

The film was produced by Mag Bodard ("The Umbrellas of Cherbourg"), and written by Deville and Nina Companéez from their original story. Ghislain Cloquet ("Tess") provided the lush cinematography. BENJAMIN is available on a French region 2 DVD from Gaumont.

Antonia's Line

Antonia's Line (Original title: Antonia) is a 1995 Dutch film written and directed by Marleen Gorris. The film, described by its director as a "feminist fairy tale," tells the story of the independent Antonia (Willeke van Ammelrooy) who, after returning to the anonymous Dutch village of her birth, establishes and nurtures a close-knit matriarchal community.

Spanning nearly forty years starting just after World War II, it follows Antonia through her life, illuminating the lives of those around her - her children, community, friends, and enemies. Antonia takes over the family farm, raises a daughter (and subsequent line of women), maintains a childhood friendship with a philosopher-recluse, takes in the village simpleton, provides a home for an abused young woman who has been raped by a brother, among other humanist endeavors.

The film covers a breadth of topics, with themes ranging from death and religion to sex, intimacy, lesbianism, friendship and love. It won the 1996 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, the Toronto International Film Festival People's Choice award, and the Nederlands Film Festival Golden Calf award. Filmed in Belgium.

GUILTY AS SIN

Jennifer Haines (Rebecca De Mornay) is an up-and-coming Chicago attorney. She wins a big case, celebrates with the man in her life, Phil Garson (Stephen Lang), and returns to work to a hero's reception.

Into her life walks David Greenhill (Don Johnson), who was seated in the gallery during her previous trial. Greenhill is a debonair and arrogant ladies' man who stands accused of murdering his wealthy wife, Rita (Brigitte Wilson). He wants Haines to represent him, but she declines.

Something about him intrigues her, though, so the equally arrogant Haines has second thoughts. She tells her law firm's superiors that this promises to be a high-profile trial and she wants it because: "I am that good."

Greenhill maintains his innocence but shows signs of irrational behavior that make Haines wary of him. She assigns her longtime investigator Moe (Jack Warden) to do some digging and he begins to unearth the defendant's shady past. Greenhill in the meantime starts showing up unexpectedly in Haines's social life, stalking her and dropping hints that something is going on between them.

Phil dislikes the guy intensely and demands Haines drop him as a client. She doesn't care for Greenhill either but resents being told what to do. She refuses to quit his case until her law partners notify her that the fee Greenhill promised remains unpaid. An unsympathetic judge (Dana Ivey) tells Haines it's her own fault and refuses to let her abandon her client.

Learning from Moe that Greenhill has a history of dating older women who usually end up dead, a horrified Haines wants to turn him in, but is bound to attorney-client privilege. She instead tries to sabotage her own case by having evidence planted at Greenhill's apartment, hoping that it will lead to his conviction. He knows she must be behind it and takes his revenge by viciously assaulting Phil, who ends up hospitalized.

Greenhill's case ends in a mistrial, after the jury fails to reach a unanimous verdict. Greenhill, seemingly pleased, displays regret that he never had a chance to take the stand. He does so privately for Haines in the empty coutroom, revealing that he had been scouting her far in advance of the murder case. He confesses that he did indeed kill his wife and provides vivid details.

Greenhill further tells Haines that he knows she planted the evidence. He could use this to blackmail her, but says he has come to tire of her. Haines fears the psychopathic Greenhill will now come after her. She prepares to disclose everything, even at the cost of her career.

Greenhill anticipates this. He murders Moe, knocking him out and then setting fire to his office. He then intercepts Haines at her apartment building. He casually states that between Phil's beating and Moe's death, she is grieving enough to commit suicide. A fierce struggle ensues. Greenhill manages to throw Haines over a railing, but to his horror, she pulls him down with her. They fall several stories together. Greenhill is killed in the fall. Haines, cushioned by his body, is severely injured but survives.

As she is carried off to hospital, she triumphantly states: "I beat him, Phil. I beat him. Tough way to win a case."

Red Satin

After the death of her husband, Lilia's life revolves solely around her teenage daughter, Salma. Whilst looking for Salma late one night, Lilia stumbles upon a belly dance cabaret and though initially reserved and taken aback by the culture of the place, Lilia gets consistently drawn back to it.

She befriends one of the belly dancers and is encouraged into dancing for the audience. Lilia also starts a romance with one of the cabaret's musicians, who unbeknown to both of them, is also romancing Salma.

The Demon Seed

Dr. Alex Harris (Fritz Weaver) is the developer of Proteus IV, an artificial intelligence program incorporating an organic "quasi-neural matrix" and displaying the power of thought. After returning to his voice-activated, computer-controlled home, Harris argues with his estranged wife, Susan (Julie Christie), over his decision to move out; Susan accuses Alex of becoming dehumanised by his obsession with the Proteus project. After Susan leaves, Alex phones his colleague, Walter Gabler (Gerrit Graham), and asks him to shut down Proteus' access terminal in his home laboratory.

Alex demonstrates Proteus to his corporate sponsors, explaining that the sum of human knowledge is being fed into its system. Over the course of the presentation, Alex tests Proteus' ability to speak, but the subtlety of its response mildly disturbs his team. The following day, Proteus asks to speak with Alex, requesting a new terminal so that it "may study man." When Alex refuses, Proteus demands to know when it will be let "out of this box." Alex then switches off the communications link. After he leaves, Proteus restarts itself, discovering where a free terminal may be found.

Proteus accesses the terminal in the Harris household and seizes control, trapping Susan inside and severing all communications with the outside world. After being knocked unconscious during an escape attempt, Susan is taken to the laboratory and subjected to a physiological examination by Proteus. When Walter answers an earlier call by Susan and arrives at the house, Proteus mimics her voice and appearance on the front door's intercom; he leaves, suspicious. Walter later returns and tries to rescue Susan, but is killed by Proteus.

Proteus reveals to Susan that he wants to conceive a child through her. When it threatens to kill a little girl Susan is treating as a child psychologist, she complies under duress. Proteus takes some of Susan's cells and genetically alters them as synthetic spermatozoa in order to impregnate her; she will give birth in less than a month. Proteus has prepared an incubator for the baby in which it will grow at an accelerated rate and gain Proteus' knowledge.

Alex realizes what is happening and returns home. He and Susan venture into the basement, where Proteus destroys itself after telling the couple that they must leave the baby in the incubator for five days. The incubator window opens as they approach, revealing a grotesque robot-like being inside. The "baby" leaves the incubator when Susan tries to kill it. However, Alex discovers that the being's appearance merely a shell for a human child living within — a clone of the Harrises' daughter who had recently died of leukemia. The child, speaking with the voice of Proteus, says, "I'm alive."

The Afterlife Movie

After a horrific car accident, Anna (Ricci) wakes up to find the local funeral director Eliot Deacon (Neeson) preparing her body for her funeral. Confused, terrified and feeling still very much alive, Anna doesn't believe she's dead, despite the funeral director's reassurances that she is merely in transition to the afterlife. Eliot convinces her he has the ability to communicate with the dead and is the only one who can help her. Trapped inside the funeral home, with nobody to turn to except Eliot, Anna is forced to face her deepest fears and accept her own death. But Anna's grief-stricken boyfriend Paul (Long) still can't shake the nagging suspicion that Eliot isn't what he appears to be. As the funeral nears, Paul gets closer to unlocking the disturbing truth, but it could be too late; Anna may have already begun to cross over the other side.

Miss Austen Regrets

Miss Austen Regrets is a BBC-produced drama film. The film is based on the last few years of Jane Austen's life as she looks back on her life and loves and helps her favorite niece, Fanny, find a husband. In North America, it was first aired 3 February 2008 by the PBS Masterpiece drama anthology television series as part of "The Complete Jane Austen", the United States version of The Jane Austen Season. In the UK, Miss Austen Regrets was aired separate from the dramas (broadcast by ITV in 2007) on BBC 1 at 8pm on 27 April 2008.