Product: Manon of the Spring (1987)
Rating: 4.0
Deeply Satisfying Movie
I chanced on this movie completely by accident. It was in the wrong box. It opened with some goats and French subtitles. I thought, oh boy, this will put me to sleep. Yet the movie works on many levels: on one, it is like a complex detective story, with tiny clues sprinkled throughout gradually coming together at an overwhelming ending. On one level, it is a comedy, poking fun at pompous scientists and ignorant folk. On another, it explores unrequited love, a topic the movies usually avoid. On another it about the lush scenery and quaint village life in France. Yves Montand is a brilliant actor. He packs so much depth into every second he is on screen. He feels like a real person. It is a movie about faces, memorable, complex, elderly, even ugly faces.This movie is the very opposite of fluff.