For some men, land and water are more precious than flesh and blood.
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.
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- CinemaSerfon TMDB · May 20247/10
"Ugolin" (Daniel Auteuil) returns from the war to his wealthy uncle "Papet" (Yves Montant) with some inspiration. He doesn't divulge his cunning plan until he is ready, and then presents the man with some perfectly cultivated carnations. It turns out there's money in flowers, but they also need a great deal of water. Gallons and gallons of the stuff. It occurs to "Papet" that their curmudgeonly neighbour might be willing to sell his land, upon which there is a clogged-up spring. No such luck there but an accident shortly afterwards fills them with hope. Sadly for them, their plans are further frustrated by the arrival of the hunch-backed and enthusiastic city boy "Jean" (Gérard Depardieu) and his wife and child who move onto the farm. They are decent and hard-working relatives of the dead man and are determined to use science to make a go of things. Whilst feigning friendship with the family, "Ugolin" and "Papet" cement over their water supply and leave them at the mercy of the unpredictable weather and a rather ropey cistern system. Their farming days would appear to be doomed unless God intervenes. What now ensues sees the family "Cadoret" increasingly struggle to make money bree
Read the whole review on TMDB - Filipe Manuel Netoon TMDB · Jun 20238/10
**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 da
Read the whole review on TMDB - Nutshellon TMDB · May 2020
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.
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Cast
- Yves MontandCésar Soubeyran, aka 'le Papet'
- Gérard DepardieuJean Cadoret, hunchback, son of Florette
- Daniel AuteuilUgolin Soubeyran, nephew of Papet
- Elisabeth DepardieuAimée Cadoret, wife of Jean
- Margarita LozanoBaptistine, Piedmontese of the cave
- Ernestine MazurownaManon Cadoret, daughter of Jean & Aimée
- Armand MeffrePhiloxène, mayor
- André DuponPamphile, joiner
- Pierre NougaroCasimir
- Jean MaurelAnglade, believer
Crew
- Claude BerriDirector
- Gérard BrachScreenplay
- Claude BerriScreenplay
- Marcel PagnolNovel
- Bruno NuyttenDirector of Photography
- Jean-Claude PetitOriginal Music Composer
- Sophie CousseinEditor
- Corinne LazareEditor
- Jeanne KefEditor
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