Jean De Florette/Manon Des Sources [1986]

Customer Reviews:

Turn off time and be absorbed........2007-12-02

You can read the reviews but please, just watch these films. Make sure your 'phone is off, your curtains are closed, everyone is watching with you or out for the weekend and assemble your neccessary acoutriments around you. Wear a nappy even! This duo takes you through the greed, stupidity, innocence, faith, hate, rage, desire and Love that is manifest in your lifetime. As fluid as the Stella for which the title music is used, and as solid as the backdrop of mountains, across which little Manon flits and leaps. You will need little else for some time. Drink it in.

A real must see.......2007-11-03

You must watch these two together. The first time i watched jean de florette (sp) was in a soho cinema........i cried my eyes out, its the first film i ever saw with sub titles that i totally forgot i was reading at the bottom of the screen and got submerged in the beauty and brilliantly written story. I was very young at the time, and it opened my eyes to "world cinema" it never left me and i went on to watch such classics as Betty Blue, Cyrano de Bergerac etc. You must try them and see... enjoy.

It's no masterpiece..........2007-05-30

One of my favourite films (I've always regarded it as one film rather than two), but one that I hadn't seen for many years, I watched it again with my daughter (12) over the weekend. Although I still enjoyed it, I question its status as a masterpiece of French cinema. The story and the performances, particularly by Depardieu, Yves Montand and (particularly, I think) Daniel Auteuil, really carry it, but the film itself often seems clumsy to me... to take a few examples, most of the scenes where the blessed harmonica puts in an appearance are on the wrong side of toe-curling, Jean's death seems rushed in the otherwise measured tempo of the film and for me, Emmanuelle Beart is completely wrong for the part, too modern, emotionally monotone and generally looking as though she has just stepped out of a Monsoon ad. And the great cinematography? Well it's a beautiful landscape and setting, for sure, but I'm not convinced that the photography, which I find rather flat, does it any particular favours.
Having said all that, my daughter loved it. But maybe that's consistent... revolving around the death of the father, the film is full of wild passion and drama which to older eyes starts to look more like sentimental melodrama, Maybe she's the perfect audience, and that's no criticism. But a great film? I'm not so sure any more.

A Classic Double French Helping.......2007-05-24

A story about a sympathetic hunchback named Jean de Florette (Depardieu), who dreams of a simple life, but his efforts are thwarted by his two neighbors. They wish to buy his land, because they and only they know its true value. The two schemers offer to help Jean, but really they only want to keep close track of what he is doing and has planned so that they may persuade and influence him to that which will not succeed so that he will be forced to sell - to them. To fully appreciate the story and this film, one must see the sequel 'Manon des Sources', where the final ironic tragic ending is revealed. To quote the bible "...am I my brother's keeper", it seems a perfect epithet for this movie.

As good as a film can get.......2007-05-15

Have been meaning to see this for some time.

The film is shot beautifully and acting almost perfect. There are a few flaws if being picky, although disagree with an earlier reviewer's comments about the drought, as I seem to remember part of the storyline revolves around the piece of land in question being in a valley where rain doesn't fall even when surrounding areas do get rain. So, ok, perhaps this isn't likely in real life, but it is a story and adds to the irony of there being a spring on the land, and is central to the deception.

Without giving anything away, the first film leads you to want to see the second, both are wonderful and led me to further Claude Berri films. Very rewarding.

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