lampic Made from a novel by Irish writer William Trevor (whom I need to check out) "My House in Umbria" is about a group of train passengers who survive bomb attack.None of these people knew each other from before and as they recover in Italian hospital, gentle eccentric romance novel writer Emily Delahunty (Maggie Smith) decides to take this little bruised group in her Umbria house - she lives alone in a beautiful country side house and loves the idea that perhaps nature and silence would heal the wounds of this unexplained, brutal attack. Her naturally strong imagination is inspired by these new friends and who they might have been before they boarded the train. There is an old general (Ronnie Barker), German journalist (Benno Fürmann) and a little American girl (Emmy Clarke), all of them lost people who traveled with them - the little girl is in fact mute now from a shock of losing her parents. The cast is excellent but it is Maggie Smith who stands head and shoulders above everybody else as her character (sweet, lonely soul tormented by memories) tries to help people who only yesterday were strangers on a train and suddenly had turned into friends connected with survival. Smith is very much like Blanche du Bois in a sense that she refuses to see bad things in life and focus only on positive. Her own life was all but romantic as we slowly find out, nevertheless she writes love stories with happy endings and creates her own reality, believes in dreams and astrology - the character of Thomas Riversmith (Chris Cooper) is her direct opposite as American scientist who has different outlook at life, laughs at her little eccentrics and in general has no patience for people like her. As Mrs.Delahunty slowly finds more about her guests, we also find more about them and about her - all of them in their way help to each other but its Italian countryside that truly heals everybody. What a beautiful, beautiful movie.

Kyle Rains I will not attempt to summarize the plot - only to express my gratitude for giving Dame Maggie a meaty role - I dangled upon her every word and expression. And thank God for a movie with characters over the age of 30. Thanks for giving those of us who love Italy a free vacation.Now tell me, those of you who have criticisms - would you or would you not (if this were real) like to spend a week or even a year with Mrs. Delahunty in her villa? I don't think her prescient dreams, meddling, snooping, rambling reminiscences nor her grappa drinking would bore me a bit. In fact I would join in with wine, gin and tonic and grappa and even a (gasp) cigarette!A slow Umbrian repast each evening under the candle-lit wisterias -- ahh now that is savoring life. And this movie teaches other lessons of life as well if you choose to listen.

moviemaster I gave this movie a generous "6", although it is so uneven that it probably deserves less. Yes, Maggie Smith is good to great.... and most of the acting is good. But the plot meanders badly. Plus, Mrs. Delahunty has a curious gift... her dreams are visualizations of reality, or as close as she ever come to it. This was an aspect which could have been used to much better advantage. As it was, we just assumed the dreams were just her fantasies after another drunken binge. Werner's character is complex and of course one suspects him immediately... he's the only one who could have any reason to blow up a train. But does someone who wants to blow up a plane (ooops, they got the wrong vehicle) just camp out at a palatial country home, planting flowers... or rather would he try to escape back to Germany? Would Mrs. Delahunty continue to embrace him even though she knows he's a monster? But it's worth it to watch Maggie Smith. She gives, for the most part, a very nuanced performance.

Amy Adler Emily (Maggie Smith) writes romance novels, fairly successfully. Although British by birth, she lives in Umbria, Italy in a big and beautiful house/mansion. When traveling one day on a train, she finds herself in a compartment with some nice folks, among them, a lovely little girl. All of a sudden, a bomb explodes. Emily survives, as does Amy, the young girl, an older retired officer, and a young German man. After their stays in the hospital, Emily welcomes all of these survivors to continue their recovery at her house. Amy, very traumatized by the events, does not speak, yet she clings to Emily. Everything is going along quite nicely when, out of the blue, they learn Amy has an uncle in America. Will he come to get her? This is a most unusual story but a very fine one. Smith is superb as the aging writer and the rest of the cast is wonderful, too. The scenery in Italy is loveliness indeed and makes for a very beautiful movie. The script is elegant but not stuffy. All in all, if you loved Under the Tuscan Sun or Enchanted April, you will enjoy this film, yes. But, even if you have never taken a videotrip to Italy, you will be happy you carried this film home from the video store or library. It is enchanting fare with an extraordinary tale of human relationships.