Product: Jean de Florette (1987)
Rating: 5.0
The Carnations of Wrath, Part 1
Jean de Florette (1986) is the screen adaptation of Part 1 of Marcel Pagnol's superb novel, L'eau des Collines (The Water from the Hills, 1963). It is the story of two competing projects, one carried out by the city-dweller Jean Cadoret, and the other by the peasants Ugolin and Cesar Soubeyran, set in the rustic and picturesque environment of Provence in the 1920s. Since I assume that by now everyone is familiar with Pagnol's story, let us briefly examine what makes this story so compelling.A good story must have a plot, a compelling conflict, and characters that we care about who change as a result of their experiences. This particular story qualifies unquestionably as a good one, on all the points. One of the main reasons for its success is the fact that the viewer is kept in suspense, continuously questioning the outcome of the story. We can see that a large part of the scriptwriter's role is to ask questions, and then provide the right answers at the right time. These answers can be partial, ambiguous, even contradictory, in order to reinforce the viewer's suspense and questioning.The first question posed in Jean de Florette concerns the success of Ugolin and Cesar in their "carnation project." Will they succeed in getting the critical water necessary for the cultivation of these flowers? This question interests us because these two characters have been introduced as somewhat likable, worthy of our support. Later on in the film, we have second thoughts about the integrity of Ugolin and Cesar, who now appear to us as violent and deeply unprincipled. However, the positive, first impression made by the two Soubeyrans still persists within us.A second question rises with the arrival of Jean Cadoret. Will his project of raising rabbits, a project directly in conflict with Ugolin's, succeed? Although we may have considered at first Jean as an intruder who comes and upsets Ugolin's plan, we also realize that the dice are loaded in Ugolin's favor, and our sympathy slowly shifts toward Jean. But we still keep a somewhat favorable image of Ugolin and Cesar, still hoping for positive answers to the first two questions that are raised.Pagnol now determines that the progress of the drama toward its conclusion, that is to say the answers to these two questions, will depend on subjective, internal factors, such as the personalities or the stubbornness of the characters, and not on external or providential circumstances.Thus, the new questions now being posed are about the nature of the characters. Can Ugolin carry out his duplicitous game to its conclusion? Will he make a mistake and be discovered, or will he be overcome by a sense of guilt and help Jean by revealing the presence of the spring at "les Romarins?" The viewer hopes that in the end Ugolin will give in to his positive instincts. As for Cesar, the spectator knows that he will never abandon Ugolin's project. Yet the viewer has detected something peculiar concerning Cesar's reaction when Florette's departure from the village is mentioned. We therefore suspect that somehow Florette's past relationship with Cesar could bring about a positive change in his behavior. Independently, Jean's character will also dominate the outcome of the story. We wonder if his enthusiasm, boundless optimism, and his erudition will somehow contribute to his failureWe are torn between the two conflicting wishes for the success of two conflicting projects. This is the originality of Jean de Florette and what distinguishes this story from the usual, vulgar Manichaean novels or films.The themes are the city versus the country, modern versus traditional, good versus bad, and memory versus oblivion.Jean, returning to the country to cultivate the "othentic," is an idealist, more or less in the Jean-Jacques Rousseau tradition. He has abandoned the city life to return to his country roots. His knowledge has all been acquired in books. He speaks in the idiom of the bureaucrat that he was. He constantly quotes statistics to guide his project and to convince himself and his listeners how Nature should and will behave. He tackles his project with a definitively modern, scientific approach, having made the proper calculations for his project. Nothing is left to chance: everything is anticipated and calculated.To Ugolin, Cesar, and the villagers, because of his language, education, and culture, Jean is a kind of pedantic usurper colliding with the peaceful, traditional aspects of their village life. They make fun of Jean because his knowledge was acquired in books, not by experience. Their conversations, Cesar's in particular, are peppered with old, colorful sayings and local proverbs. The villagers are isolated from Jean's world by their hills and seldom leave their village. They are attached to the land they have worked for centuries and to their way of life. The peasants use their traditional methods to cultivate their vines, fields, and fruit trees by hand, without the benefit of any machinery.In concluding the first part of his story, Pagnol, by presenting us with Jean's failure, seems to distance himself from the intellectual tradition. However, at the same time, he does not consider the country life as a perfect universe, without conflicts. He illustrates the violence that can result from the peasants' deep attachment to their lands. Pagnol exposes us to the tribal mentality of the villagers against "foreigners," such as the inhabitants of the nearby village of Crespin. Finally, Pagnol shows us the deep motivation of Ugolin and Cesar that is also easily understood by a city-dweller: making money.