The French pulled out all the stops when they made this film even involving the French Ministry of Culture and the Centre National de la Cinématographie but it is marred by just one thing and that is the subtitling. When translating from one language to a second it is imperative that the translator is a native speaker of the second language. It is soon apparent that that was not the case here. Why oh why did they not devote the care and attention they gave to the original to the foreign language version? Nevertheless cinematography wins through and this is a joy to watch.
Firstly, those sub-titles; these include several obscure English words such as genuflect, midden and farrier. Subtitles are literally gone in a flash so they must be sharp, to the point and in everyday language; one does not have time to ponder over them in the cinema, they became an irritant and are off putting. Even when watching a recording at home it is too distracting to have to keep on resorting to a dictionary. Having got that off my chest, let's turn to the film itself.
The story is based on a novel "L'eau des Collines" by Marcel Pagnol, itself an expansion of an earlier novel filmed and directed by Pagnol as "Manon des Sources" in 1952. Pagnol was a member of the French Académie and achieved fame with his Marseillaise film trilogy "César", "Marius" and "Fanny" made in the early 30s. After Pagnol's death in 1976 "Manon des Sources" was remade with the original title at the same time as "Jean de Florette"(1986) so forming a sequel. The film is set in a small sleepy village, little more than a hamlet, in Provence near the town of Aubagne (Pagnol's birthplace) some dozen or so miles to the east of Marseilles in the 1920s. Much of Pagnol's writing is set in his beloved Provence of which he is a true and passionate observer. The film, made almost 10 years after his death, is the French nation's tribute to him; it presents an idyllic view of life in the sparsely populated rocky hilly region, falling not far short of a masterpiece. One sees all the features of a village run by old men playing pétanque or just sitting around doing nothing and saying very little. Yves Montand is excellent as César aka "Le Papet", one of the village patriarchs. Aged but unmarried he lives with his nephew Ugolin (Daniel Auteuil), a very withdrawn and ugly youth in his twenties with not much to say for himself. They are the sole survivors of the Soubeyran family who once dominated the region. César treats him as the son that was never his. Ugolin finds that the soil around their farm is ideal for growing carnations but as the area is arid they need water for irrigation. They are aware of a long forgotten spring on an adjoining farm, so plot to acquire the land by deception from some townspeople who have recently acquired it. Gerald Dépardieu plays the part of the hunchbacked owner of the land and is the son of a former local beauty Florette who caught many a young man's eye not least that of César. The Soubeyrans are content to bide their time as the years go by, seeming to help their new neighbours become farmers but all the time finding ways of undermining them.
The film proceeds at a leisurely pace creating the true atmosphere of this sleepy community and with the breathtaking cinematography coupled with the fine acting it all adds up to a very rare cinematic experience. So much of what César has to say or is thinking is seen in expression on his face; a slight twitch here, a raising of an eyebrow, a nod, they say it all: truly a masterly performance reflecting the leisurely way of life. Daniel Auteil also gives a fantastic performance as the seldom-speaking nephew.
César is evil and wicked beyond belief and will stoop to anything to get his way, yet he has the most pleasant of disarming smiles and an ever-present twinkle in his eyes. Usually well mannered, his Achilles heel is his temper and when he loses it the consequences are disastrous. Somehow one is drawn to him and sympathises with him. The hunchbacked Jean comes across as the unwanted intruder from the town and one does not feel for him in the way that the story demands. It's all part of the craft of film-making.
Quite a few reviewers have praised the background music taken from Verdi's "The Force of Destiny". I was so enthralled by the film that I was not aware of any background music until I read these comments, but opera stops for me after Carmen. This exemplary film is in the great tradition of French cinema, which it should be as Marcel Pagnol was himself a great film maker and the founder in 1936 of the journal "Les Cahiers du Film". I have given this film only nine marks out of a possible ten on account of the defects I have referred to in the subtitling. One essential quality I expect a film to possess to deserve ten marks is that I must be able to enjoy viewing it time and time again, and "Jean de Florette" certainly passes that test.
Firstly, those sub-titles; these include several obscure English words such as genuflect, midden and farrier. Subtitles are literally gone in a flash so they must be sharp, to the point and in everyday language; one does not have time to ponder over them in the cinema, they became an irritant and are off putting. Even when watching a recording at home it is too distracting to have to keep on resorting to a dictionary. Having got that off my chest, let's turn to the film itself.
The story is based on a novel "L'eau des Collines" by Marcel Pagnol, itself an expansion of an earlier novel filmed and directed by Pagnol as "Manon des Sources" in 1952. Pagnol was a member of the French Académie and achieved fame with his Marseillaise film trilogy "César", "Marius" and "Fanny" made in the early 30s. After Pagnol's death in 1976 "Manon des Sources" was remade with the original title at the same time as "Jean de Florette"(1986) so forming a sequel. The film is set in a small sleepy village, little more than a hamlet, in Provence near the town of Aubagne (Pagnol's birthplace) some dozen or so miles to the east of Marseilles in the 1920s. Much of Pagnol's writing is set in his beloved Provence of which he is a true and passionate observer. The film, made almost 10 years after his death, is the French nation's tribute to him; it presents an idyllic view of life in the sparsely populated rocky hilly region, falling not far short of a masterpiece. One sees all the features of a village run by old men playing pétanque or just sitting around doing nothing and saying very little. Yves Montand is excellent as César aka "Le Papet", one of the village patriarchs. Aged but unmarried he lives with his nephew Ugolin (Daniel Auteuil), a very withdrawn and ugly youth in his twenties with not much to say for himself. They are the sole survivors of the Soubeyran family who once dominated the region. César treats him as the son that was never his. Ugolin finds that the soil around their farm is ideal for growing carnations but as the area is arid they need water for irrigation. They are aware of a long forgotten spring on an adjoining farm, so plot to acquire the land by deception from some townspeople who have recently acquired it. Gerald Dépardieu plays the part of the hunchbacked owner of the land and is the son of a former local beauty Florette who caught many a young man's eye not least that of César. The Soubeyrans are content to bide their time as the years go by, seeming to help their new neighbours become farmers but all the time finding ways of undermining them.
The film proceeds at a leisurely pace creating the true atmosphere of this sleepy community and with the breathtaking cinematography coupled with the fine acting it all adds up to a very rare cinematic experience. So much of what César has to say or is thinking is seen in expression on his face; a slight twitch here, a raising of an eyebrow, a nod, they say it all: truly a masterly performance reflecting the leisurely way of life. Daniel Auteil also gives a fantastic performance as the seldom-speaking nephew.
César is evil and wicked beyond belief and will stoop to anything to get his way, yet he has the most pleasant of disarming smiles and an ever-present twinkle in his eyes. Usually well mannered, his Achilles heel is his temper and when he loses it the consequences are disastrous. Somehow one is drawn to him and sympathises with him. The hunchbacked Jean comes across as the unwanted intruder from the town and one does not feel for him in the way that the story demands. It's all part of the craft of film-making.
Quite a few reviewers have praised the background music taken from Verdi's "The Force of Destiny". I was so enthralled by the film that I was not aware of any background music until I read these comments, but opera stops for me after Carmen. This exemplary film is in the great tradition of French cinema, which it should be as Marcel Pagnol was himself a great film maker and the founder in 1936 of the journal "Les Cahiers du Film". I have given this film only nine marks out of a possible ten on account of the defects I have referred to in the subtitling. One essential quality I expect a film to possess to deserve ten marks is that I must be able to enjoy viewing it time and time again, and "Jean de Florette" certainly passes that test.