Jean de Florette (1986)

A greedy landowner and his backward nephew conspire to block the only water source for an adjoining property in order to bankrupt the owner and force him to sell.

Director:

Claude Berri

Writers:

Claude Berri (adaptation), Gérard Brach (adaptation),

Stars:

Yves Montand, Gérard Depardieu, Daniel Auteuil

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 10 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Yves Montand	...	Cesar Soubeyran dit 'Le Papet'
Gérard Depardieu	...	Jean de Florette (as Gerard Depardieu)
Daniel Auteuil	...	Ugolin
Elisabeth Depardieu	...	Aimee Cadoret
Margarita Lozano	...	Baptistine
Ernestine Mazurowna	...	Manon Cadoret enfant
Armand Meffre	...	Philoxéne
André Dupon	...	Pamphile, le menuisier (as Andre Dupon)
Pierre Nougaro	...	Casimir
Jean Maurel	...	Anglade
Roger Souza	...	Ange
Didier Pain	...	Eliacin
Pierre-Jean Rippert	...	Pascal
Marc Betton	...	Martial
Clement Cal	...	Méderic

Storyline

In a rural French village an old man and his only remaining relative cast their covetous eyes on an adjoining vacant property. They need its spring water for growing their flowers, so are dismayed to hear the man who has inherited it is moving in. They block up the spring and watch as their new neighbour tries to keep his crops watered from wells far afield through the hot summer. Though they see his desperate efforts are breaking his health and his wife and daughter's hearts they think only of getting the water.

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Plot Keywords:

water | spring | flower | entrepreneurship | heritage | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

France Switzerland Italy Austria

Language:

French

Release Date:

August 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

A paradicsom...

Filming Locations:

Ansouis, Vaucluse, France

Box Office

Gross:

$4,940,939 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

DD Productions, Films A2, Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

When Jean is first fixing his roof and he bends over, the outline of the padding used to make his hunchback is clearly visible.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[dialog in French, lines from English subtitles]
Ugolin: Papet! Papet! It's me, Ugolin!

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Connections

Referenced in Siskel & Ebert: The Hunt for Red October/House Party/Courage Mountain/Rosalie Goes Shopping/Too Beautiful for You (1990)

User Reviews

Breathtaking motion picture classic from the French countryside

Of all the French movies I've ever seen (and I've seen quite a bunch of them, let me tell ya) Claude Berri's "Jean de Florette" has to be one of the best if not the best. I saw this couple of times in the television some years ago and recently bought the DVD just to find out that this film seems to be excellent no matter how often and many times I decide to watch it.

"Jean de Florette" works in so many different levels. I love the breathtaking settings, beautiful French countryside - superterranean paradise. Actors are magnificent, Gérard Depardieu has a long and respected career in the cinema but if you ask me the role of Jean de Florette is truly the very greatest performance of his life. Yves Montand and Daniel Auteuil equally shine as the greedy and devious Soubeyrans.

Characters are simply incredible. Naturally audience immediately loves the hunchback. He's so warm, nice, sympathetic, unyielding and persistent yet jovial - truly the amiable hero of the story. However, no one can't help of loving those crooked rogues as well. They are so incomprehensibly mean it's definitely comical.

That's what makes "Jean de Florette" such a great and memorable experience. It's a very sad and tragic story but it makes you laugh a lot. In the same time it manages to be extremely cruel, funny and touching. This is exactly what movies are made of. It's safe to call "Jean de Florette" a perfection, powerful and stirring motion picture experience and a grand classic everyone should watch. 10/10.