Jean De Florette/Manon Des Sources [1986]
£6.89
Ridiculously over-rated French froth - The best French film in 20 years? A masterpiece? Both of these suggestions are quite laughable and grossly overstate the importance of this film pairing in the context of French cinema as a whole which is without much doubt the greatest cinema in the world. Both films are rather banal, bland pedestrian adaptations of Marcel Pagnol s book (at best)and provide little in the way of cinematic poetry to justify their own existence. Claude Berri brings very little to the stories which isn t there in the books so why not simply read the book instead? Okay, there s is nothing wrong with faithful adaptations which bring nothing new or fresh to the silver screen but truthfully these stories are not that exciting or original to begin with. You ll have seen these plots in countless other (better)movies before. Both suffer from being ponderous overblown and melodramatic and lacking in any kind of credibility which might ve helped to immerse the viewer into their stories. As a result the rather mawkish Manon Des Sources fails on another level altogether. Only someone who has spent too much time reading Stephen King s novels would find these films involving, moving and deeply spiritual. Think Shawshank Redemption and you get the idea. The performances are very good from all concerned but the so-called shock revelation at the end of the second film is just a neat contrivance of plot to attempt to bring some weight to what has been seen previously. Of the hundreds of French films I have watched over the past decade, this pairing don t even begin to register in the Best stakes. A true measure of how mainstream and therefore conveniently and mechanically plotted any film is would be to ask the question: could Hollywood have produced this film exactly the same without crucial changes? The answer for both Jean De Florette and Manon Des Sources is undoubtably YES! There is no better way to damn with faint praise.
Just Beautiful - I bought this as I am a lover of French movies and insisted my mother watch it (though she doesn t usually watch subtitled films). We didn t plan on seeing both (each film is great entertainment in its own right and creates different emotions), my mother couldn t wait for another sitting to see the second one, it s best seen back to back. So what is so great about it? Filmed in the beautiful backdrop of Provence in France, great writing, acting and casted very well, with, Depardieu, Yves Montand, Daniel Auteuil, well all the cast giving brilliant performances. With a brilliant story and music score, the plot is written in a way that you can identify with all characters. Even my 5 year old son who would definitely not read the subtitle was captivated by the scenery and music(he happened to be around when I was watching it and I would normally be harrassed to put on a childrens dvd). A great one to pull out from time to time especially on a rainy sunday afternoon, and be captivated. Great value for money.
A masterpiece - My brother and his girlfriend bought this for us for Christmas, which we initially thought a surprising gift as we d never seen (or expressed a wish in seeing) a foreign language film before. Having just watched it, I have to say it was an completely inspired choice. Initially, it s the quality of the cinematography that draws you in, as the landscape of Provence and its wild animals are portrayed at their most beautiful and detailed. Then it s the tale of an idealistic young man moving out of the town to try and make a living in the country with his family, and the way in which his neighbours conspire to thwart him. The story plays out like a Greek tragedy, but over such a generous period of time (watching both films back to back takes around four hours) that you can understand the conflicting feelings of the neighbours in a way that makes the ending both poignant and satisfying. All kinds of big themes are touched on before then: greed, love, kindness, betrayal, sacrifice, regret, dedication, mistrust and prejudice are just some of them, but they re essayed in such an understated way that you never feel that the film is heavyhanded in getting its point across. Since it s impossible to imagine seeing one film without the other, this double set is really the only way to experience this masterpiece.
Turn off time and be absorbed. - You can read the reviews but please, just watch these films. Make sure your phone is off, your curtains are closed, everyone is watching with you or out for the weekend and assemble your neccessary acoutriments around you. Wear a nappy even! This duo takes you through the greed, stupidity, innocence, faith, hate, rage, desire and Love that is manifest in your lifetime. As fluid as the Stella for which the title music is used, and as solid as the backdrop of mountains, across which little Manon flits and leaps. You will need little else for some time. Drink it in.
A real must see - You must watch these two together. The first time i watched jean de florette (sp) was in a soho cinema........i cried my eyes out, its the first film i ever saw with sub titles that i totally forgot i was reading at the bottom of the screen and got submerged in the beauty and brilliantly written story. I was very young at the time, and it opened my eyes to world cinema it never left me and i went on to watch such classics as Betty Blue, Cyrano de Bergerac etc. You must try them and see... enjoy.