rating:
(out of
4 stars)France, Switzerland, Italy; 1986
Directed by Claude Berri; Marcel Pagnol's novel adapted by by Claude Berri, Gérard Brach
Starring Gérard Depardieu, Yves Montand, Daniel Ateuil, Elisabeth Depardieu, Margarita Lozano, Ernestine Mazurowna
Below you will find a temporary review for this film. The real (better, more complete) review will be online very soon.
'Jean de Florette' is a movie with a hero and a villain but it does not feel
like that kind of movie and therefore, or because of that, it does not
follow the predictable storyline. The hero is Jean de Florette (Gérard
Depardieu). With his wife and daughter he moves to a rural French village
after they have lived in the city. He wants to make his own food and maybe
try to sell some to make a living.
We have already met the two villains, Ugolin (Daniel Auteuil) and his uncle
(Yves Montand). They are the neighbors of the house where Jean de Florette
is about the live. Before he arrives they have found a well with water which
they have closed for any other person that will buy the property, hoping
they can buy it themselves. Now that Jean de Florette arrives (he has
inherited everything) they want him out to buy the place. Especially Ugolin
seems the nicest guy to Jean, but underneath he fools and deceits him over
and over again, under the influence of his uncle.
The longer the movie takes the more sorry you feel for Jean and his family.
We understand that Ugolin and his uncle only want the best for themselves
without really realizing the consequences for Jean. The fact that Ugolin is
being so friendly with Jean shows us that he knows very well what he is
doing and therefore he becomes the villain instead of the hero. That the
movie sees everything with the villains eyes helps us understand why they
act like that; it does not justify it.
Not only the story keeps our attention, it is the beautiful scenery as well.
The images are nicely photographed, giving us an impression of how the lives
of those people were. Depardieu and Montand give terrific performances,
especially Depardieu, who is so much better here than in most of his
English-language films. The more merciless the movie gets, the less we hope
for a happy ending, the better Depardieu, and basically this study on human
nature, gets. Everything leads up to the inevitable ending that has a small
surprise for us which opens the way to the sequel 'Manon des Sources'.