Product: Manon of the Spring (1987)
Rating: 5.0
Heartfelt, understated drama.
Within my top five favourite films at this point, Manon of the Spring is a conventional, brilliantly acted story of lost romantic longing, revenge, redemption, and forgiveness.Daniel Auteuil shines as the physically unattractive Ugolin, smitten with hopeless desire for the wild shepherdess Manon (the heavenly Emmanuelle Beart), daughter of the deceased Jean (from Jean de Florette). Their interaction in this pastoral countryside is priceless, especially if you know the back story, the complicated character dynamic between Manon and Ugolin. Manon's subsequent revenge on the entire town has a tragic air to it, because though you know she's justified in her actions, the townsfolk are portrayed in such intimate detail that you will find yourself drawn to them, sympathizing. Much like the peasants of Seven Samurai, you see their folly, but feel for their distress.Director Claude Berri has the good sense to let the very intense dramatic situations in this story play out in a naturalistic, restrained manner. Instead of bursting out into the proclamatory Jacobean mode, Manon of the Spring lets the tragic moments and points of emotional outburst breathe, instead of drowning them out in tirades of sentimental outburst. The results are simply stunning.I saw this film before I saw its predecessor, Jean de Florette, and the result was a wonderfully different experience. I recommend trying it out as an experiment -- Manon of the Spring stands on its own as an autonomous piece of superb storytelling, but its reverberations change once you've seen Jean de Florette.