"Freely adapted from the famous Balzac novel ", but ,by and large, it is faithful to the book :only slight differences which enhance a feminist side : Charles and Eugénie do not spend one night in the same bed ,they exchange a chaste kiss and that's it . Eugénie does not marry when she becomes the wealthiest match in Saumur town : she insist on her firm independence of men ,she's going to travel all around the world ; in both the book and the movie,she gives a lot to charities though....
This is minor quibble; by and large , the movie is not disappointing , it's the kind of movie we can do with ,at a time when the comedy a la française is the dominant genre ;of course it's not the first time this classic has been transferred to the screen (there was even a miniseries a long time ago) ,but this version is quite estimable ,weren't it only for Olivier Gourmet's sensational portrayal of the miserly Grandet , a man so tight-fisted his maid Nanon refuses to put some fresh cream in the coffee .Grandet likes the ravens ,he's himself a vulture, a
carrion eater ,who takes advantage of the others' misfortunes,even his own brother .His heart is cold,he loves only gold .He does not want his daughter to get married ,for at the time the dowry was de rigueur and the celebration would cost him an arm and a leg .Like Harpagon in Molière's "l'avare" he poorly lives and his wife and daughter vegetate in a seedy house; in the nineteenth century , woman had choice between marriage and convent ; Eugénie is submissive :her first act of rebellion is the affair with Charles who later on would not marry a "common girl from the province"; when she inherits a fortune, men urge her to get married ,for a woman is not supposed (and able) to manage money ; that's the main difference with the book : betrayed by Charles ,she refuses the male protection whereas she gets married on the paper.
Josephine Japy may seem inexpressive ,but she portrays a submissive girl ,under her father's thumb ,a brute who thunders when he learns she gave her louis d'or to her cousin ;Gourmet shines in the scene in the church.
The cinematography is splendid indeed and takes advantage of the magnificent landscapes of the Loire valley ; the vineyards, the misty canal, the trees which seem to imprison the heroine .
