Ida has spent her entire life in a convent and unexpectedly returns home to her debauched father who just as unexpectedly marries her off to a kindly artist. She accepts the arranged marriage reluctantly seeing it as her only way to some degree of independence and the artist has his own agenda. But as time passes they each find the other more and more appealing. The plot is highly predictable and the performances good (but not outstanding) but there is something serenely delightful about this movie. The production values are good, the soundtrack gentle and evocative of a time when life was simply more elegant than it is now and while the plot is nothing special it does provide some humorous moments: the comically abrupt wedding, Ida's inability to cook a decent apple pie, and the husband's friend who's always short on cash. But the romantic moments work too. None better than when they are making up a story to tell his friends about how they met. Ida suggests a romantic tale where he sees her and declares that he wants to paint her face alone for the rest of his life and her husband scoffs at the idea that an artist would ever only want to paint one face. Then, towards the end of the film, realizing that she loves him, Ida goes to see him in his studio and is stunned to see that every painting there is of her face. It's a lovely romantic moment.

I liked the story line, well acted. Only problem I had is that the subtitles were written faster than when they spoke, you have to wait for them speaking to catch up and had both their lines in one text box, couldn't tell whose line was whose. In the case of the housekeeper there weren't any subtitles at all so I had no idea what she was saying. Otherwise, I enjoyed it. The costumes, hair and period furniture were beautiful. The picnic scene was like something out of a Claude Manet painting. You'll get a real feel for the period due to the architecture and scenery selections. Beautifully photographed movie.