Jean de Florette / Manon of the Spring: Two Films by Claude Berri
Edition no. 1257



Details by Film
A sprawling tale of greed, betrayal, and revenge plays out amid the bucolic splendor of the French countryside in Claude Berri’s masterly two-film adaptation of a literary work by the legendary Marcel Pagnol. Spanning three generations in the lives of two families, Jean de Florette and Manon of the Spring vividly recreate the provincial world of an early-twentieth-century village, where an outsider’s arrival sets in motion a devastating chain of events. With gorgeous cinematography, keen insights into human nature, and superb performances from icons of French cinema (Gérard Depardieu, Yves Montand, Daniel Auteuil, and Emmanuelle Béart), these richly absorbing moral tales—at the time of their production, the most expensive French films ever made—are triumphs of epic storytelling in the classical tradition.
Technical Specifications
Supplements
- Claude Berri: The Card Dealer (2018), a documentary on director Claude Berri’s life and career
- The Force of Destiny (2017), a documentary about the making of the films
- Trailer for Jean de Florette
- Trailer for Manon of the Spring
- An essay by film scholar Sue Harris