A sprawling tale of greed, betrayal, and revenge plays out amid the bucolic splendor of the French countryside in Claude Berris masterly two-film adaptation of a literary work by the legendary Marcel Pagnol. Spanning three generations in the lives of two families,Jean de FloretteandManon of the Springvividly recreate the provincial world of an early-twentieth-century village, where an outsiders arrival sets in motion a devastating chain of events. With gorgeous cinematography, keen insights into human nature, and superb performances from icons of French cinema (Grard Depardieu, Yves Montand, Daniel Auteuil, and Emmanuelle Bart), these richly absorbing moral talesat the time of their production, the most expensive French films ever madeare triumphs of epic storytelling in the classical tradition.
Jean de Florette
The sun-dappled beauty of the Provence countryside belies dark motivations, in the first installment of Claude Berris monumental pastoral tragedy. When the naively idealistic tax collector Jean Cadoret (Grard Depardieu) unexpectedly inherits a family farm, he leaves the city for a new life in the agrarian community where his mother, Florette, grew upthough she moved away decades ago. His neighbors, however, the scheming Ugolin (Daniel Auteuil) and his proud uncle Csar Soubeyran (Yves Montand), have plotted to divert the flow of water away from Jeans land. Brought to extraordinary life by acting legends Depardieu, Auteuil, and Montand,Jean de Florettedraws viewers into a fully realized vision of 1920s rural France in which the culture clash between modern ideas and the rustic older codes of the country takes a heartbreaking turn.
Manon of the Spring
Shot simultaneously withJean de Florette,this second chapter in the epic story of the intersecting fates of the Cadoret and Soubeyran families unfolds ten years after the events of the first film, as Jean Cadorets daughter, Manon (Emmanuelle Bart, in a Csar-winning performance), now a teenage shepherdess, learns of the circumstances that drove her family to ruinand seeks revenge on those responsible. A stirring portrait of a young womans awakening to her own agency,Manon of the Springbrings to a close Claude Berris sweeping Marcel Pagnol adaptation with a devastating power that approaches Greek tragedy.
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