Not knowing anything about wine, I was curious to check out Red Obsession and see what the fuss was all about. In the end, exited this film with an education of a world I never even knew existed. Red Obsession is a documentary about the Chateaux of Bordeaux, the work that they do, the foolish people that waste money purchasing wine like stocks for a financial investment, and their influence on the Chinese market.
I understand that the main objective of the film was to help create praise for the Chateaux of Bordeaux, but all I could see was the frustration about the Chinese threatening their market and producing better quality wine. This was evident when there was footage shown of a Chinese wine winning the top prize in a UK competition in 2010, beating all the Chateaux of Bordeaux. The Chateaux of Bordeaux did not seem welcoming to their new Chinese competition, and I do not understand why. If the Chateaux of Bordeaux really are the ‘best in the world’, then why should any of them need to feel threatened by Chinese wine enthusiasts?
I personally believe this film failed to tell the story that they wanted to tell, even with Russell Crowe‘s narration. I left the film with absolutely no compassion for the Chateaux of Bordeaux and am disgusted by the amount of greed and power hungry people purchase their wines for financial gain. There was also not enough history which was very poor.
It is no longer about the love of food or drink, but about who has the bigger ego. I support the Chinese with what they’re doing, and I believe the best thing I took from this film was the fact that just because you’ve been doing a skill for longer, does not necessarily mean someone new cannot outsmart you.