Future wife of mine, Keira Knightley, has apparently got a thing for period pieces. And that’s fine. She’s got that little something about her that lends itself quite well to them. Namely being British. And hot.
But this new film, based on the novel Silk by Alessandro Baricco, has nothing to do with being British. It’s Frenchy/Japanesey, actually: "It is the story of a married silkworm smuggler, Hervé Joncour, in 19th Century France who travels to Japan to collect his clandestine cargo. While there he spots a beautiful European woman, the concubine of a local baron, with whom he becomes obsessed. Without speaking the same language, they communicate through letters until war intervenes. Their unrequited love persists however, and Herve’s wife Helene begins to suspect."
Though it hasn’t been officially stated in the trades, the delectible Knightley will most likely be playing the role of Hervé Joncour’s wife, Helene. The concubine, whom I presume has to be of at least equal or much greater hotness to Keira Knightley, has not been cast. Might I suggest Monica Bellucci?
Silk (I’m assuming that’s what the film will be entitled) is to be directed by François Girard (The Red Violin) who also happend to adapt the script after a first draft was submitted by the book’s author himself. Filming is set to start in Spring ’06.
You can currently watch Knightley being all British, hot, AND critically acclaimed in Pride & Prejudice, and later next summer, in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest with Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, and a Cthulhu-faced Bill Nighy.