Manon of the Spring (1986)

A beautiful but shy shepherdess plots vengeance on the men whose greedy conspiracy to acquire her father's land caused his death years earlier.

Director:

Claude Berri

Writers:

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

Stars:

Yves Montand, Emmanuelle Béart, Daniel Auteuil

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 4 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Yves Montand	...	Cesar Soubeyran dit 'Le Papet'
Daniel Auteuil	...	Ugolin
Emmanuelle Béart	...	Manon (as Emmanuelle Beart)
Hippolyte Girardot	...	Bernard Olivier
Margarita Lozano	...	Baptistine
Yvonne Gamy	...	Delphine
Ticky Holgado	...	Le Spécialiste (as Tiki Olgado)
Jean Bouchaud	...	Le Curé
Elisabeth Depardieu	...	Aimee Cadoret
Gabriel Bacquier	...	Victor
Armand Meffre	...	Philoxène
André Dupon	...	Pamphile, le menuisier
Pierre Nougaro	...	Casimir
Jean Maurel	...	Anglade
Roger Souza	...	Ange, le fontainier

Storyline

In this, the sequel to Jean de Florette, Manon (Beart) has grown into a beautiful young shepherdess living in the idyllic Provencal countryside. She determines to take revenge upon the men responsible for the death of her father in the first film.

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Plot Keywords:

spring | revenge | goatherd | sequel | countryside of provence | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Was #4 on Gene Siskel 's list of the "Best Films of 1987."

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Goofs

When three goats are climbing on the rocks, you can clearly see someone waving a pine branch behind them, probably to force them to move.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[dialog in French, lines from English subtitles]
Le Fleuriste: Voila!
[pause]
Le Fleuriste: Next time I won't pay this much. The competition from Italy is ruining me.
Cesar Soubeyran: This barely pays for the fertilizer for the flowers. Next year we'll grow chickpeas.
Le Fleuriste: I'll miss our aperitifs together.

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Connections

Referenced in Orphans (1998)

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Soundtracks

Le Mariage de Manon
Lyrics by David McNeil
Performed by Gabriel Bacquier and Ève Brenner

User Reviews

A great film

This is just as good or even better that it predecessor, Jean de Florette (1986). It is amazing how well thought out the story is. Like a Greek tragedy, everything falls into place, everything is accounted for as fate conspires with character to bring about retribution for those who did wrong.

We feel sad and sorry for Papet and Ugolin, whose weaknesses and "crimes" are so like our own.

Daniel Auteuil, who plays Ugolin, is a actor with great range and sensitivity. He is unforgettable here as a not-too-bright peasant who suffers an excruciating and hopeless case of unrequited love. And Yves Montand, who plays his uncle is flawless, like an Olivier, as he experiences a very cruel turn of fate. Emmanuelle Béart, who plays Manon, is very beautiful, but she is also strange enough to be believable in an unlikely role as a solitary shepherdess of the hills of Provence.

Claude Berri's direction is so perfectly paced, so full of attention to detail and so unobtrusive and natural that the film just seems to happen without effort. Nothing fancy, just show what needs to be seen, no more. Use no more words than necessary, but all that are necessary. It's almost like magic, how easy it looks. The scene near the end when the blind woman reveals the cruel turn of fate to Papet is exquisite in its simplicity and its effectiveness.

In a sense this movie is a throw back an earlier era in cinema when careful attention to the construction of a character-driven story was the essence of the art.

(Note: Over 500 of my movie reviews are now available in my book "Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can't Believe I Swallowed the Remote!" Get it at Amazon!)

Details

Country:

Switzerland Italy France

Language:

French

Release Date:

4 December 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Manon of the Spring

Filming Locations:

Ansouis, Vaucluse, France

Box Office

Gross USA:

$3,940,542

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,940,542

Company Credits

Production Co:

DD Productions, Films A2, RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1