Dutch film Bride Flight opens in select U.S. cities today and will expand to theaters across the country throughout July.

The film is a romantic drama inspired by the true story of the 1953 KLM flight that entered the “Last Great Air Race” from London to Christchurch, New Zealand. The flight was dubbed “Bride Flight” by the international press, because of its special passengers -- young women with wedding dresses in their suitcases, traveling to join their fiancés who had already emigrated to New Zealand. Leaving behind the gloom and scarcity of post-WWII Holland, shy but sensual farm girl Ada, dogmatic Marjorie, and Jewish fashion designer Esther are filled with hope for a future of love and freedom.

Each takes a very different journey in their strange new land, but together with handsome bachelor Frank, they form a bond on the flight that continues to link them for decades to come. Honored with Audience Awards at film festivals across the U.S., the movie evokes a time of slim choices and desperate optimism, with sweeping views of the New Zealand countryside, stunning period dresses, and the faint smell of Pinot Noir from the thriving vineyard Frank establishes in New Zealand.

In Dutch and English, with English subtitles. Running time: 2 hours 10 minutes.
http://www.brideflightmovie.com/