Manon of the Spring

The other half of Jean de Florette is the golden key that beautifully close a great work of French cinema.

This film is the sequel to Jean de Florette and was filmed immediately after that film, with the same cast, the same director, the same technical team, the same sets and locations. In practice, they are two films that come together like two sides of the same coin and, to understand this, it is essential to see the first one. The script picks up the story where the first one interrupts it: Jean's death and the selling of the land to the Soubeyran's. While the widow returns to her career as a lyric singer, her young daughter stays behind, becomes a goat herder and grows into a woman so beautiful that, years later, drives Ugolin So...

Continuing on from the story of "Jeanne de Florette", we have advanced many years to find "Ugolin" (Daniel Auteuil) and his uncle "Papet" (Yves Montand) running a thriving carnation business perfectly watered by their own spring. Indeed it's quite a feet of irrigation that has enabled them to enhance the family fortune by at least 50,000 Francs. As ever, though, "Papet" is looking to the future of his dynasty and so continues to pressurise "Ugolin" to marry. He's quite happy with the odd visit to the local whorehouse until he discovers "Manon". She (Emmanuelle Béart) is the daughter of the previous owners of the property and after her father's untimely death is now reduced to goat-herding in the hills. A chance encounter with new teacher "B...