Jean de Florette
Original post date: 6 June 1987
Rating: ✭✭✭✰
This is a French epic of the first order. Beautifully photographed in Provence, the setting is rural France of the 1920s. Jean de Florette (played by Gerard Depardieu, who is in virtually every French movie ever made) is a tax collector by trade. But when his uncle dies, he inherits a house and farm in the country. Jean, who happens to be a hunchback and has a lovely wife and daughter, decides to move to the farm and get away from city life. What he doesn’t know is that the neighbors covet the farm for a natural spring (which they have conveniently hidden from him). So, while they pretend to be his good friends, they are sabotaging his farming efforts every chance they get. It is heartbreaking to watch the innocent, ever optimistic Jean try and try again to make a go of his farm only to be wiped out for the lack of water, which he doesn’t suspect is under his very nose. Even ugly Ugolin, who is after the farm, is torn between greed and pity for the city people. The other neighbor is Ugolin’s uncle, crafty old César, played by Yves Montand who is old enough to do character roles now. A sequel to this movie was filmed at the same time and centers on Jean’s daughter. Shots from Part Two are shown at the end of the film. A very handsome production.
Rating: ✭✭✭✰
This is a French epic of the first order. Beautifully photographed in Provence, the setting is rural France of the 1920s. Jean de Florette (played by Gerard Depardieu, who is in virtually every French movie ever made) is a tax collector by trade. But when his uncle dies, he inherits a house and farm in the country. Jean, who happens to be a hunchback and has a lovely wife and daughter, decides to move to the farm and get away from city life. What he doesn’t know is that the neighbors covet the farm for a natural spring (which they have conveniently hidden from him). So, while they pretend to be his good friends, they are sabotaging his farming efforts every chance they get. It is heartbreaking to watch the innocent, ever optimistic Jean try and try again to make a go of his farm only to be wiped out for the lack of water, which he doesn’t suspect is under his very nose. Even ugly Ugolin, who is after the farm, is torn between greed and pity for the city people. The other neighbor is Ugolin’s uncle, crafty old César, played by Yves Montand who is old enough to do character roles now. A sequel to this movie was filmed at the same time and centers on Jean’s daughter. Shots from Part Two are shown at the end of the film. A very handsome production.
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