Production quality has a made-for-TV feel but it doesn't matter much. Nothing is outright bad or distracting; in fact, the lighting is quite beautiful in many scenes. The story itself isn't very plausible, but leaves enough unsaid that you can imagine it possible that such eccentric characters exists in some corner of rural California.
It's the characters who make the film. Nigel Hawthorne's Uncle Cullen is the odd ascetic who sits on a pillar but manages to repair the soul of Ross (Rufus Sewell) who is chasing after the wind with his "business" ventures, and the love life of Kendal (Minnie Driver) who longs to be with her first love, but won't admit it to herself. The movie touches on spiritual matters as the characters come to understand who they really are and what they really want out of life.
The humor is sprinkled throughout, expertly placed just when the story needs an emotional pick-me-up. Mr. Tang playing the guitar is one of the funniest scenes I've seen, one that I laugh at still, after having seen it a dozen times.
High art it's not, but well made, touching and entertaining, even if the producer/director (John Huddles) is a relative unknown.
