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(France) Directed by Claude Berri (Germinal, Uranus)
Cast: Gérard Depardieu, Daniel Auteuil, Yves Montand, Elisabeth Depardieu
Plot: (from James Travers review) A city-dweller, Jean de Florette (Depardieu), moves with his family to start a new life as a farmer in Provence in the 1920s. His neighbors, the Soubeyrans (Montand and Auteuil), are not happy at his arrival, and contrive to prevent him from finding out about a natural spring that proves essential for farming the land. In a desperate attempt to keep the farm viable, Jean de Florette is ultimately killed. In the sequel, Manon des Sources, his daughter takes revenge on the Soubeyrans, but it is ultimately revealed there is a family tie between the two families and, tragically, the differences are not reconciled.
Awards:
- BAFTA (British Academy Awards) '88: 4 wins including Best Film and Best Supporting Actor (Auteuil); 5 additional nominations including Best Actor (Depardieu) and Best Director (Berri)
- National Board of Review (US) '87: Best Foreign Language Film
- Césars (French Academy Awards) '87: 2 wins for Best Actor (Auteuil) and Best Supporting Actress (Emmanuelle Beart); 6 additional nominations including Best Director and Best Film
- Golden Globe (US) '88: nomination for Best Foreign Language Film
Trivia: Daniel Auteuil wears uglifying prosthetics to appear the country dimwit that he is in this film. More recently, he starred with Depardieu in Le Plaçard, a French comedy hit directed by Francis Veber.
US/UK Status: Available on VHS and DVD in the US and UK.
Links:
Imdb.com listing (see especially 'reviews' and 'trailer')
Rotten Tomatoes page
Roger Ebert review
Filmweek review
James Travers review
6 degrees review
Inthe80's page
Buckness University review
Filmcritic.com review
A fan page
Foreignfilms.com
Coastnet review
Cinedestin page (in French)
On This Site:
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