Silk

Silk is a 2007 drama film directed by François Girard. An international co-production of Canada, Italy, and Japan, Silk is an adaptation of Italian author Alessandro Baricco's 1996 novel of the same name. It had its world premiere at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2007. American actor Michael Pitt stars in the lead role of the French silkworm smuggler Hervé Joncour, with English actress Keira Knightley as his wife, Hélène, a teacher and keen gardener. Japanese actors Miki Nakatani and Kōji Yakusho are also featured. Exterior Japanese scenes were filmed in the city of Sakata. Knightley's scenes were filmed in Sermoneta, Italy, a small medieval village near Latina. Hélène's garden was filmed at Villa Lina, near Ronciglione. Plot The film opens with Hervé narrating his observations of an unidentified Asian woman bathing in a hot spring, then stating that his story actually begins earlier, when he returned to his hometown in 19th century France while on leave from the army. He meets Hélène, a teacher, who wants nothing more than a garden and Hervé, who wants nothing more than to marry her. Local businessman Baldabiou, who runs three silk mills that support the town economy, is at risk from a European-wide silkworm disease. He convinces Hervé‘s father, the mayor, to let Hervé leave the army and marry Hélène, and in 1862 Hervé travels to Egypt to purchase silkworm eggs. Since the African silkworms are affected too, Baldabiou next sends Hervé to Japan, even though it is dangerously closed to foreigners. The journey takes months, across thousands of miles of Europe and Asia. Once there, Hervé is blindfolded and taken to a Japanese village where he can buy eggs from a local baron, Hara Jubei. During his stay in the village, he becomes obsessed with Jubei's unnamed concubine (the Girl).