Product: Jean de Florette (1987)
Rating: 5.0
A Light Operetta, Part I.
Jean De Florette takes you into a bucolic environment of hypocrisy and superficial envious interests towards dismissed ones, among green French landscapes of farmer's adversity against any foreigner, an Stigma that means both loneliness and passive psychological aggression, greedy and unwelcoming, micro cells of rejection and unfair judgment. Jean Cadoret comes to take on the land he inherits from his late mother Florette, along with his wife (Aimee Cadoret) and daughter (Manon), Jean initiates a utopia of peace and beauty, contemplation and inner state of grace. Little does he knows the faithful tragedy this countryside means, every effort to overcome is a step closer to despair, poor Manon, such an unnecessary faith, the Hunchback is finally aside their mean intentions.After doing his time in the army, Ugolin comes back to meet his only alive relative, Cesar Soubeyran (Le Papet), with a little red torn plan to become rich, and it is in this moment when Papet sets Ugolin to carry on his will for the sake and perdurability of the Soubeyran strong and respected name, only one obstacle stands in, the necessary land, and most important, an spring overwhelming enough to drank the flowers towards their red adult state, this is Florette's land, now in the hands of his son, the Hunchback, known here as Jean De Florette. And so, Ugolin fakes a friendship with Jean, only to systematically destroy this man's fair dream, Jean Cadoret will die ignoring the existence of the spring that could have turned on his despair into a bliss. Revenge will be at Manon's hands.Directed by the audacious Claude Berri (his directorial credits includes, A Man and a Woman 1966, and Germinal 1993), the film narrates the perils and sorrows of a man and his determination to confront adversity within hope and emotion, cruelty is the other side of an envy worthy of any cold hearted patriarch, and Papet represents the director's composure of the survival instinct. Rhythm and straight sense conveys the images into a poem of loss, Magnificent. A greening accurate scenery, along with an amazing and light photography, makes justice to every countryside frame, it is both exquisite and delicate, perfectly blended into images, a little shining jewel enhanced by an smooth and classical music score by Jean-Claude Petit (including the overture of Giuseppe Verdi's Opera: La Forza del Destino, or The force of Destiny, 1862).The film carries on the strong and near perfect performances of its three huge protagonist, the late Yves Montand, Gerard Depardieu, and Daniel Auteuil. Montand commands all his actor experience and knowledge into a mesmerizing portrait of envy and supremacy, and absolute masterful performance, Depardieu expresses with histrionic sense and candor, all the sweetness and tragic personality of that beautiful character that is Jean De Florette, a brilliant work, and last but not least, Auteuil conveys the slimy ways and contradictory conscience of Ugolin, bringing to screen a versatile view of this man, a much keen and deep superb work. Take into consideration, that these three actors are the best ones of their respective generations, big words to say. The supporting cast also brings artistry and intensiveness to the story. Based on The Water of the Hill, by Marcel Pagnol, the screenplay is one of those very strange occasions when an adaptation is as good as the original text, and the film is the cinematographic equal to the novel.The Region 1 DVD is good, Widescreen Letterbox Edition 2:35.1, with Dolby Digital 2.0. offers a fine choice, but an improve version can make more justice to this great film.Jean De Florette is only half of the story, the second part, Manon of the Spring, continues this unforgettable tale of envy and true introspect of greedy behavior. A real lesson for those ones that don't care for nothing more than their own interests.