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Love_Spoon [ 7.0 ]
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Everyone that rents this should know that Jean de Florette is only half of the story. The story continues in Manon of the Spring. That being said, knowing this, the first half for me was not much more than an introduction to the characters along with a bit of exposition. An old, cocky farmer and his dim-witted nephew conspire against an utterly idealistic and optimistic novice farmer until his absolute self-ruin and death. Doesn't make much of a satisfying story by itself, but gives me quite a sense of anticipation for Manon of the Spring.
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Dancing_P [ 9.0 ]
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Excellent comedy-drama from Claude Berri, based on a novel by Marcel Pagnol. César (Yves Montand) is an old man who lives alone in the hills of Provence. One day, his nephew Ugolin (Daniel Auteuil) moves back on César’s property and reveals to him his latest moneymaking scheme: flowers. There’s a problem, however: there’s no irrigation anywhere near the flowers, and the only source is on a neighboring property. After the owner dies in an “accident”, César and Ugolin block up the source to make sure that the land will sell for cheap… but what they don’t count on is that the owner’s son, a city-bred hunchback named Jean (Gérard Depardieu), is moving in. Jean de Florette is one of those prestige foreign movies that casual moviegoers seem to embrace; the thing is, it’s actually worthy of this title! It’s a funny, touching, emotional film… one of those rare movies that transcends genre. The performances are all sterling, with Auteuil particularly brilliant as Ugolin. It is followed by Manon des Sources, which is considered by some as the rest of the film, and not a sequel (e.g. Kill Bill).
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jeff_v [ 7.5 ]
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The movie's only drawback is that it is the sort of film that would be shown in a high-school French class, if you know what I mean.
That said, it's an engrossing story that builds perfectly to its wrenching climax. Daniel Auteuil is fantastic as the conscience-torn man who lets his greed get the best of him. The film's power resides in our hopes that he makes the right decision (which we know he is capable of), but he never does.
I should also mention that, as tragic as the tale is, there's also a welcome streak of humor (especially the ironic kind) running throughout.
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| Weighted Rating | : 7.6 |
| No. Ratings | : 8 | |
| No. Reviews | : 6 | |
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