Jean de Florette (1986)

Director:

Claude Berri

Writers:

Claude Berri (adaptation)
Gérard Brach (adaptation)

Release Date:

August 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Water | Spring | Flower | Nephew | Rural

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 10 wins & 15 nominations

Cast

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

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

France | Switzerland | Italy

Language:

French

Colour:

Colour (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Netherlands:AL | Singapore:PG | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Chile:TE | Finland:S | Norway:12 | Sweden:Btl | UK:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Ansouis, Vaucluse, France

Company:

DD Productions

Goofs:

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

Quotes:

Cesar Soubeyran: Now let's talk about other things. I'm going to write to Scratcher.
Ugolin: Who's she?
Cesar Soubeyran: You don't know her because she left here before you were born. She had the body of an angel. They called her Scratcher because when the boys tried to kiss her she scratched their faces. She used to sharpen her nails especially. But because of this she ended up a spinster and when her parents died she went to work for the priest at Mimet. About 4 or 5 years ago the pope moved him to Crespin and she should still be with him.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Gossip Girl: Dan de Fleurette (#3.4)" (2009)

Escape to a rural idyll from another age

This film captures another world, and makes you a part of it. The acting is superb, the scenery breathtaking, and a huge amount of skill and effort has gone into evoking the heat of summer and the details of village life in a harsh, pre-industrial world. If you cannot stand watching a film in a foreign language, or you only watch films with special effects and non-stop action,then you may find something to object to in this one, but otherwise it is perfection. The story is heart-wrenching, all the characters (both good and bad) demand sympathy, and the story is both credible, and beautifully told. That is the true quality of this film - it tells a simple, gripping story in a way that grips any viewer with a heart from start to finish.