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Merry Christmas and best wishes for the New Year!! x
Member since:25.03.2005
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...I'm hoping you're picking this up from where my Jean de Florette review left off. If not then shame on you, you're doing exactly the same thing I did, which was to watch Manon des Sources before having seen Jean de Florette. Hehe :P
In my defence though this was because I was studying Manon des Sources for my French coursework and we simply didn't have time to watch Jean de Florette first. If you do do this, it's preferable to have a rough idea of what happened in the first film, though it won't hinder your understanding of the film terribly if you don't know what happened in the first one. You'll pick up the rough gist of what happened as you go along.
So going on the assumption that you haven't read my Jean de Florette review (and just to make sure you were paying attention if you have :P) - a brief history of how this film came about: This 1986 film from French director Claude Berri is based on the novel by Marcel Pagnol of L'académie Française. This book, in turn, was based on the 1952 film 'Manon des Sources,' also by Pagnol. So a film inspired a novel which inspired this classic adaptation by Berri.
Manon, who was a young girl in Jean de Florette, has now grown into a beautiful young 'sauvageonne - wild girl' who lives up in the hills she fled to at the end of the first film. When she finally discovers the truth about her father's death she takes her revenge.
At the end of Jean de Florette it is made clear that the story is far from over and indeed it would seem that it is just beginning. The story comes together perfectly in this film, with a rather unexpected twist towards the end. In his desperation to continue the Soubeyran line César has effectively stopped it himself and the story has come full circle. At the beginning there was only one person who could contine the Soubeyran line, and this is true at the end. Pagnol seems to suggest that while times change, nothing really moves forward.
Once again you get the beautiful setting of Aubagne as a backdrop for this film as well as excellent performances again all round. Emmanuelle Beart takes on the eponymous role of Manon while Montand and Auteuil return to their roles of César (Le Papet) and Ugolin respectively. Montand, in particular, is outstanding in this film as he really manages to evoke a sense of sympathy towards the end of the film, despite his despicable actions we see the morals and values that lead him to take them.
Ugolin also, is an excellent character. This film contains many more tragic elements than the first in my opinion, but the comic factor of the paysans runs through - a great example is the meeting with the Génie rural - an engineer who has come to discuss the problem of the lack of water in the town. The mayor, with his telephone, is another comic character but Ugolin really helps to tie in the comedy with the tragedy. His infatuation for Manon results in rather amusing attempts to win her heart.
Of the two films, this is undoubtedly my favourite. The totally unexpected conclusion, the marvellous acting of Montand, Auteuil and Beart, the beautiful setting, the French (sorry I just love listening to French) and the way the comic and tragic elements link so well are all reasons I know virtually all the words to this film.
Once again themes such as greed, revenge, envy...and even a bit of love (yay) run through the film and it really makes you question your own beliefs about fate and destiny.
'C'est pas de sa fote, c'est pas de ma fote, c'est pas de ta fote, c'est la fatalité' (Ugolin - a quote from the book - basically 'It's no-one's fault, it's fate').
Once again the DVD is selling on Amazon for £15.99 but I picked up a copy from HMV for £9.99. It's a PG certificate and is 109 minutes long.
A timeless epic - there's no other way to describe it and I think it deserves a place in everyone's collection.
Thanks for reading.
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Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
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Less a sequel than a seamless continuation of its predecessor,Jean de Florette,Manon des ... more
Sourcesbrings with it a more epic scope as it depicts the growth to womanhood of the daughter (Emmanuelle Béart) of the doomed farmer of the first film. As she dis...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Less a sequel than a seamless continuation of its predecessor,Jean de Florette,Manon des ... more
Sourcesbrings with it a more epic scope as it depicts the growth to womanhood of the daughter (Emmanuelle Béart) of the doomed farmer of the first film. As she dis...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 2 to 4 weeks...
The equally extraordinary, highly successful and award-winning sequel to Jean De Florette, ... more
based on the classic novel by Marcel Pagnol.The timeless story continues with the late Jean de Florette's daughter Manon (Emmanuelle Beart), now grown up into a ...
The equally extraordinary highly successful and award-winning sequel to Jean De Florette ... more
based on the classic novel by Marcel Pagnol. The timeless story continues with the late Jean de Florette's daughter Manon (Emmanuelle Beart) now grown up into a...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
![Manon Des Sources [DVD] [1986]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/76559320.jpg "Manon Des Sources [DVD] [1986]")
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