When I saw Jean de Florette, I thought that Yves Montand jumped at the chance to play the role of Cesar Soubeyran (aka "Le Papet"), but he actually refused the role when first offered and only took it when his wife died. I have to wonder if he got the scripts for both movies or the first one, since in Manon of the Spring his character actually deepens and might be even more interesting to play (albeit not quite as villainous, he really does have an arc here), but at the same time the story dips somewhat in quality. It's not for the entire running time of the film - mostly it's in the third act, when the film turns into an unbelievable yarn full of revelations and twists to make it into a happy story of the utmost redemption (with maybe a bit of tragedy in retrospect to be sure). But Manon of Spring shows why having a strong ending, especially when a story runs from first part to second almost four hours in length, is very important.
This time it's more about the 'legacy' of the Soubeyrans as it's 10 years later and, for reasons not made totally clear, the daughter of Jean (de Florette) is on her own as a shepherdess (her mother, also for reasons not totally clear, is singing opera again, which is odd since in the last film she said she couldn't do it anymore, but whatever). As she goes about her daily routine the Soubeyran nephew Ugel, played by Daniel Autreil, notices her going about her business (indeed, at one point, very nude and dancing around), and he falls in love with her. Of course falling in love is tantamount for him, even as his uncle demands that he marry and continue the family blood-line.
Of course there is a lot of emotional baggage for the maybe 18 year old Manon (Emmanuele Beart, pretty much immaculate in beauty to the point I'm guessing that's why they hired her, some talent notwithstanding), and the question one asks is not so much if she'll take revenge on the wealthy people who drove her father to die and make her family sell the home via trickery with the spring, but when, and by what methods. This is also, of course, a PG movie and done in a classical style, so it would have to come from something much trickier. How she lays out her payback is really clever and makes for a compelling second half of the film (or maybe one quarter I should say) and it ends up involving most of the town itself.
I think that with this story this time what's so effective is Berri's direction as a contrast in style with the material; this could very well be like a (semi-romantic) western set in the French countryside, with a lot of wide landscapes and greenery and land that can be walked around on, and while it's shot with an eye for beauty and the music scoring compliments it, the emotions are rather dark and twisted underneath. Autiel is still the actor who still has some complex emotions to play, but here it's not really about deception of this Florette farm-owner but about whether or not (or how soon/what to say) to ask this woman to be his wife and have his kids... which seems pretty close to impossible. Autiel is still very good, but somehow the character isn't quite as complex this time as in the first film - rather the whole dynamic is hinged upon what Manon knows and what he doesn't.
It's not really Beart's fault that she doesn't get much to play here, but I wonder if Manon was better developed or had more to do in the book this is based on. Part of it is that she's supposed to be shy, but to this extent(?) I think this adds to what comes out as the over-wrought melodrama at times - she either looks concerned or cries through much of the film, maybe once or twice she has some joy to her - so it leaves her as kind of a not badly but slightly underwritten character. On the opposite side Montand does everything he can with what's he's given to do and makes this old man very sympathetic as he comes to grips with what he's done. A lot has to happen for that to really take place, but Montand is always there, even when (maybe especially when) the script lets him down with what amount, to me, to be soap opera revelations about lineage and who is really who in this story (if you can take a guess it might almost count as a spoiler... maybe).
Manon of the Spring carries a lot of terrific craftsmanship, natural and wonderful acting, and some colorful supporting characters (well, maybe the real suitor for Manon is kind of two-dimensional, if that). I just wish the last 20 minutes weren't so disappointing.
This time it's more about the 'legacy' of the Soubeyrans as it's 10 years later and, for reasons not made totally clear, the daughter of Jean (de Florette) is on her own as a shepherdess (her mother, also for reasons not totally clear, is singing opera again, which is odd since in the last film she said she couldn't do it anymore, but whatever). As she goes about her daily routine the Soubeyran nephew Ugel, played by Daniel Autreil, notices her going about her business (indeed, at one point, very nude and dancing around), and he falls in love with her. Of course falling in love is tantamount for him, even as his uncle demands that he marry and continue the family blood-line.
Of course there is a lot of emotional baggage for the maybe 18 year old Manon (Emmanuele Beart, pretty much immaculate in beauty to the point I'm guessing that's why they hired her, some talent notwithstanding), and the question one asks is not so much if she'll take revenge on the wealthy people who drove her father to die and make her family sell the home via trickery with the spring, but when, and by what methods. This is also, of course, a PG movie and done in a classical style, so it would have to come from something much trickier. How she lays out her payback is really clever and makes for a compelling second half of the film (or maybe one quarter I should say) and it ends up involving most of the town itself.
I think that with this story this time what's so effective is Berri's direction as a contrast in style with the material; this could very well be like a (semi-romantic) western set in the French countryside, with a lot of wide landscapes and greenery and land that can be walked around on, and while it's shot with an eye for beauty and the music scoring compliments it, the emotions are rather dark and twisted underneath. Autiel is still the actor who still has some complex emotions to play, but here it's not really about deception of this Florette farm-owner but about whether or not (or how soon/what to say) to ask this woman to be his wife and have his kids... which seems pretty close to impossible. Autiel is still very good, but somehow the character isn't quite as complex this time as in the first film - rather the whole dynamic is hinged upon what Manon knows and what he doesn't.
It's not really Beart's fault that she doesn't get much to play here, but I wonder if Manon was better developed or had more to do in the book this is based on. Part of it is that she's supposed to be shy, but to this extent(?) I think this adds to what comes out as the over-wrought melodrama at times - she either looks concerned or cries through much of the film, maybe once or twice she has some joy to her - so it leaves her as kind of a not badly but slightly underwritten character. On the opposite side Montand does everything he can with what's he's given to do and makes this old man very sympathetic as he comes to grips with what he's done. A lot has to happen for that to really take place, but Montand is always there, even when (maybe especially when) the script lets him down with what amount, to me, to be soap opera revelations about lineage and who is really who in this story (if you can take a guess it might almost count as a spoiler... maybe).
Manon of the Spring carries a lot of terrific craftsmanship, natural and wonderful acting, and some colorful supporting characters (well, maybe the real suitor for Manon is kind of two-dimensional, if that). I just wish the last 20 minutes weren't so disappointing.