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Jean de Florette
(1986)“For some men, land and water are more precious than flesh and blood.”
Synopsis
In a rural French village, an old man and his only remaining relative cast their covetous eyes on an adjoining vacant property. They need its spring water for growing their flowers, and are dismayed to hear that the man who has inherited it is moving in. They block up the spring and watch as their new neighbour tries to keep his crops watered from wells far afield through the hot summer. Though they see his desperate efforts are breaking his health and his wife and daughter's hearts, they think only of getting the water.
Top Billed Cast
Yves Montand
César Soubeyran, aka 'le Papet'
Gérard Depardieu
Jean Cadoret, hunchback, son of Florette
Daniel Auteuil
Ugolin Soubeyran, nephew of Papet
Elisabeth Depardieu
Aimée Cadoret, wife of Jean
Community Reviews
“sub·tle (adjective) Definition: making use of clever and indirect methods to achieve something. One of the most celebrated French films of the 1980s, and with good reason. I don't think there's ever been a film that better depicts evil so subtlety well as Jean de Florette, specifically in terms of greed, covetousness, and selfishness. It is not at all a "thriller", but an engrossing drama that envelops you with its deep characterizations and tragic story. Directed and co-written by Claude Berri, and starring Yves Montand and Gerard Depardieu (both of them just excellent). This film, viewed along with it's sequel Manon of the Spring, reward the viewer with roughly 4 hours of one of the most enjoyable cinematic experiences ever. This is the Pathé 4K Restoration.”
“**The power of envy and the ineffectiveness of farming by handbooks.** The film is quite good, perhaps one of the best French films I've seen this year, which whets the appetite for the sequel, which is reputed to be even better. Simple, this film begins with the cunning maneuvers of a wealthy Provençal farmer to obtain cheaply the land of a neighboring property. It turns out that the owner is not up to this. When he dies, a short time later, the property goes to an heir who lives in the city, is a hunchback and doesn't know much about agriculture, having to read a lot to come up with ideas to make the property profitable. Aware of its importance and envious of their neighbour, potential purchasers are boycotting access to water. For city people, water is so guaranteed that we don't even think about how it ends up in our faucet. In the countryside, however, things are different, and it is not uncommon to have serious problems between neighbors due to irrigation water management. And this is becoming more and more problematic, as some areas face increasing problems of water supply and reserve. Provence is one of those places and today, the idea of a book telling us how many rainy days we would have per year is unrealistic. In addition to having a very good story and very well written, the film features two great French actors named Gérard Depardieu and Yves Montand. Both are incredible at their work, with a muted dislike that seems mutual, yet Depardieu's much more urbane character seems able to ignore similar issues. It would not be fair of me to ignore the enormous contribution of Daniel Auteuil, who manages to be a despicable villain without, however, deserving our anger. We understand very well that his character is heavily manipulated by his uncle. It is a discreet film, with good cinematography, magnificent colors and whose settings, of a delightful bucolism, are perhaps one of the best postcards of old Provence, where the lavender plantations, very scenic, but intensive and intrusive, have not yet taken over. place of cereals and olive trees. The sets and costumes are equally good, and the soundtrack does an impeccable job.”
