Jean de Florette and Manon of the Spring (1987)

Hubby first watched "Manon of the Spring" after his first colon surgery. He had suffered a ruptured colon from diverticulitis in March 1989 and almost died (I had no idea colons can burst until this happened!). It was truly God's mercy that I got him to the emergency room on time. He had to have a second surgery six weeks later to put everything back together again. It was pretty arduous time for us.

Anyway ...

He was recovering at home, alone, depressed that his life would never be the same, and he watched this on one of the movie channels. It really spoke to him. So, he's enjoyed this series of movies every since. The actor Yves Montand is one of his favorites.

This post is for him.


First in the series is Jean de Florette.

CAST:
Yves Montand ... Cesar Soubeyran dit Le Papet
Daniel Auteuil ... Ugolin
Emmanuelle Béart ... Manon (as Emmanuelle Beart)

ABOUT THE MOVIE:
Co-adapted by director Claude Berri from a novel by Marcel Pagnol, this hugely successful French historical drama concerns a bizarre battle royale over a valuable natural spring in a remote French farming community. City dweller Jean Cadoret (Gérard Depardieu) assumes ownership of the spring when the original owner is accidentally killed by covetous farmer Cesar Soubeyran (Yves Montand). Soubeyran and his equally disreputable nephew Ugolin (Daniel Auteuil) pull every dirty trick in the book to force Cadoret off his land, but the novice farmer stands firm. Although the Soubeyrans appear to gain the upper hand, the audience is assured that they will eventually be foiled by the vengeful daughter of the spring's deceased owner -- thus setting the stage for the film's equally successful sequel, Manon of the Spring.
Written by: by Hal Erickson - allmovie

PLOT: 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, so are dismayed to hear 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.
Written by Jeremy Perkins {jwp@aber.ac.uk}
Source


The second movie to watch is Manon of the Spring. "Manon" is pronounced "Man-yon". This is the one I watched and did enjoy it greatly.

CAST:
Yves Montand ... Cesar Soubeyran dit Le Papet
Daniel Auteuil ... Ugolin
Emmanuelle Béart ... Manon (as Emmanuelle Beart)

PLOT: In this, the sequel to Jean de Florette, Manon (Beart) has grown into a beautiful young shepherdess living in the idyllic Provencal countryside. She determines to take revenge upon the men responsible for the death of her father in the first film.
Written by Martin Urch c/o {mah@imdb.com}

PLOT: In a rural French village an old man and his only remaining relative are successful flower growers using water from a spring on an adjoining property they now own. The grown-up daughter of the previous owner still lives in the hills as a goatherd and comes to realise that not only these two but the whole village knew of the existence of the spring when her father was desperately trying to water his crops. An accident with one of the goats leads her by chance to the source of the spring and the possibility of a terrible revenge.
Written by Jeremy Perkins {jwp@aber.ac.uk}
Source


What starts out as a story of revenge carried to the second generation evolves into one of forgiveness. It's quite touching and teaches a good lesson about life. I hope y'all enjoy them too.

♥ ∞