AllMovie

In this genial documentary, the filmmaker's rendezvous with his main subject, former English foreign service officer and noted writer Lawrence Durrell (1912-1990) seems almost accidental. The interviewer is an American gallery owner who is traveling in Provence and runs across some paintings by the author, who had done them under the pseudonym "Oscar Epf." When the long-time fan of Durrel discovers their true origin, she looks him up, and though he is at first wary of her, he swiftly unbends and, as though with a great friend, he proceeds to show her Sommières, the town he has retired in, and to reminisce about great events and small. The author's highly descriptive and evocative works reflected his foreign service postings. He was best known for The Alexandra Quartet, four novels set in modern Egypt.