This fictional film inspired by the lives of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas is like listening in on conversations the famous couple might have had - while they edit Gertrude's latest book, take a drive to visit Picasso and Apollinaire, or just enjoy one another's company.

Their apartment on the Left Bank in Paris was a cornerstone of intellectual life between the wars, and here we see Stein as the great literary figure, experiencing some of the flavor and flow of her words. But, remarkably, the film is more about the relationship and domestic life of Gertrude and Alice. Alice is the saint, often taken for granted as she ran the household and took care of her genius. Stein can be single minded on her writing, but always with a tender heart for Alice.

Linda Bassett (The Hours) is wonderful as Stein, with her distinctive haircut, making her a complex character in a period of time when Gertrude was very ill, and Linda Hunt (The Year of Living Dangerously, The Bostonians) is magnificent as usual. The photography and language in the film are a pleasure, and this portrayal of the romance as it might have been (bickering and all) is inspiring to the imagination.

Won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. Great if you are in the mood for a very pleasant, literate film with a message of love.