Jean de Florette (1986)

4 Stars (out of 4)

Water Buffaloed

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

If my memory is correct, Jean de Florette was the first international film, with subtitles, that I ever saw on the big screen. It was a perfect first time, a classical, simple film, full of sunshine and flowers and actors in nifty hats. I probably didn't know it at the time, but the cast consisted of many of the great French actors. (Depardieu gained a measure of fame in America after being nominated for an Oscar for Cyrano de Bergerac and appearing in the American film Green Card, while Béart's first American film was an insipid rom-com called Date with an Angel, released in 1987.)

The film begins as Ugolin (Daniel Auteuil) returns home to the South of France, where he lives with his uncle César (Yves Montand). He throws himself into growing and selling carnations, but water is an issue. The pair go to a neighboring farm and offer to buy it, but the owner is killed. They block up a nearby natural spring with cement, hoping to lower the value of the farm, and await their opportunity. City-slicker and hunchback Jean (Gérard Depardieu) inherits the farm and moves there with his family, lots of books, and good intentions.

Jean tries to breed rabbits and grow crops, but César and Ugolin try to sabotage him at every turn, while presenting smiling faces and pretending to be friends. It ends tragically, although the movie almost succeeds in getting you to root for these villains. They are the locals, the ones who best know how to work the land, and Jean is an invader, and a misfit (a hunchback); he's naive and never becomes aware of the evil schemes set against him. However, there's no point in watching Jean de Florette without Manon of the Spring.

Manon of the Spring is the real masterwork here. (We had to wait around six months to see it, at some point in the spring of 1988.) It takes place several years later. Jean is gone, but his daughter Manon (the ethereally beautiful Emmanuelle Béart, just 22 or 23 here) has remained nearby, trapping small game and tending goats in the hills. She keeps herself mostly hidden from the townspeople, but one day, Ugolin spies her bathing and dancing naked and becomes smitten. He approaches her and is rebuffed, and his crush turns into obsession.

Meanwhile, Manon becomes interested in a newcomer in town, a schoolteacher and photographer, Bernard Olivier (Hippolyte Girardot), further fanning Ugolin's passions. She also discovers the hidden source of the water and turns the tables, blocking it so that it no longer flows to the village. It's sort of a tale of revenge, but it doesn't necessarily feel brutal or violent; it's more like a well-earned comeuppance for those that deserve it. The final blow is the ultimate revenge, showing how César and Ugolin ventured down a path of evil when, in fact, they never even needed to.

The Criterion Collection's two-disc Blu-ray set, released in April of 2025, is a glorious thing. The image transfers, from new 4K restorations (supervised by director of photography Bruno Nuytten), are bright and sunny, capturing the warmth of the outdoors cinematography. Audio tracks are in 5.0 surround DTS-HD. Bonus features include a 2018 documentary on director Claude Berri, a 2017 documentary about the making of the films, and trailers. There are also newly translated English subtitles. The liner notes booklet includes an essay by film scholar Sue Harris. Highly Recommended.