Only a culture that attaches as much value to the art of communication as it does to imagery and form could produce directors like Renoir, Godard, Clouzot, Malle, Truffaut, etc. etc. (the list is long), who in turn rendered such towering, influential films as The Grand Illusion, Wages of Fear, Beauty and the Beast, etc. etc. (another very long list). Say what you like about the French, but the fact is, they love to listen as much as talk, and they have refined both to high art. This film's central character, a lonely hunter, is one of the least verbose Frenchmen you will ever encounter--there are few strong, silent types in France--but this simple trait (and Gabrio's effortless, natural performance) sets Panturle apart and makes him one of the most endearing protagonists in all cinema. Harvest is not a spectacular film; it functions like its protagonist, simple, sometimes foolish and comical, but always sincere and deliberate. Panturle's mind is slow, but his spirit is unstoppable, from the time he determines to set free the sad, despair-ridden Arsule and take her for his wife, through the difficult process of reinventing himself as a farmer, to his final test, which he confronts with conscience-clearing honesty and firm humility: paying off the clown Gedemus and sending him on his way. There is beauty here enough for ten films, all of which quietly revolves around Panturle and his few words. Pagnol (who named the dying mountain village after his native town) created a number of masterpieces. Harvest is the Panturle of his films: simple, unassuming, truthful, loyal, and the heart of the ouevre.
NOTE: This film is fading from memory. It is in desperate need of restoration. Anyone...?
NOTE: This film is fading from memory. It is in desperate need of restoration. Anyone...?