Jean de Florette / Manon of the Spring (1986/2007)

by | Aug 7, 2007 | DVD & Blu-ray Video Reviews | 0 comments

Jean de Florette / Manon of the Spring (1986/2007)

Starring: Gerard Depardieu, Yves Montand, Daniel Auteuil, Emmanuel Beart
Director: Claude Berri
Written by Claude Berri and Gerard Brach
Studio: Orion Pictures Corporation/MGM
Video: 2.35:1 enhanced for 16:9 widescreen color
Audio: French, 5.1 Dolby Digital
Subtitles: English, Spanish
Length: Jean de Florette – 121 minutes; Manon of the Spring – 114 minutes
Rating: *****

“Jean de Florette” and “Manon of the Spring” are two movies that form one story arc revolving around a piece of property in rural France—they were originally released a few months apart in France in 1986. The property in question (and the landscape in general) is the central character in both films becoming more than just the setting, at times it is the antagonist and at other times it is the bond that brings and holds people together. Other themes these movies deal with are the nature of family and the concept of “other”— specifically the distrustful separation between rural people and city folk. The story line is exquisitely crafted and realized. The acting and direction is at times lean and muscular, and at other times emotionally rich, nearly melodramatic. Viewed together, these films could almost be seen as a morality play, where evil is repaid with evil and good eventually wins out in the end. But that makes these movies seem far more simplistic that they really are, and they are anything but simplistic.

“Jean de Florette” is the story of the title character, played with verve by Gerard Depardieu, and his wife and daughter, who inherit some property in the country. They plan to escape from the rigors of the city and live simply and richly in the rolling hills paradise of the country. Meanwhile, his new neighbors, the wealthy and unscrupulous patriarch Cesar Soubeyran and his diminished capacity nephew Ugolin, played respectively by Yves Montand and Daniel Auteuil, have designs of their own for this property. As part of their plot to take over the property, they block up the existing spring on the property to sabotage the future of Jean de Florette. Then they sit back and watch Jean self-destruct, as every effort of his fails time and time again. Jean is the epitome of courage and optimism in the face of adversity, but he and his plans are doomed from the beginning.

“Manon of the Spring” is the second half of the story and focuses on Jean’s daughter, Manon, who discovered the treachery of the Soubeyrans at the end of “Jean de Florette.” It takes place about ten years later and lays out the downfall of the Soubeyrans, again played by Yves Montand and Daniel Auteuil. Manon still lives in the country (while her mother returned to the city) with the local Italian woman who is rumored to be a witch and becomes a goat herder. When Ugolin spies Manon bathing and dancing in the nude, he becomes bewitched by her beauty and begins his own path to self-destruction. When Manon discovers that the entire village knew what the Soubeyrans were doing to her family, she sets in motion her own plans for poetic revenge on the entire village. At the end of the film, Cesar (Yves Montand) discovers the truth and depth of his own evil and suffers the consequences for it.

Since “Jean de Florette” and “Manon of the Spring” are really one story; having them both on one disc makes perfect sense. They belong together and are in many ways one long movie. It’s a real treat to see such a long well-developed story told with such economy and grace. Despite the combined length of nearly four hours, there isn’t any fat to this story—everything is essential. Visually, it is a gorgeous film, the sundrenched Provence countryside that yellows and becomes more bleached and blown-out as the heat and drought increases. The rich textures and colors of the hills and country homes. But truthfully, the digital transfer could have been better. At times, the dark shadowed portions of the scenes reveal more speckled noise than I am used to seeing on DVDs lately. Still “Jean de Florette” and “Manon of the Spring” are classic French films that deserve to be seen and remain as powerful a story as any ever filmed. Highly recommended.

– Hermon Joyner

 

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