Manon of the Spring

"Manon des Sources" finishes where its previous film, "Jean de Florette," left off. It takes up the tale of Manon, the beautiful young daughter whose father is gone due to the evil deeds of their neighbors.

It is 10 years past "Jean de Florette," and Manon is reduced to being a lone shepherdess in the hills for a small goat herd. Meanwhile, Ugolin, one of the men who wronged her family, has fallen in love with her.

As the movie progresses, the dark secret from "Jean" is fully revealed to all. The crime involves not only the two Soubeyrans behind the plot of the first film, but it even extends to implicate the entire town. As more is uncovered, Manon is driven to consider dark plans of a fitting revenge on them all.

The film binds all the people in town in a wonderfully spun knot of love, hate, crime, guilt, vengeance, repentance, and the possibility of forgiveness. And just when you think you've seen the completion of a superb story, there is one rich twist at the end that ties it all up into a perfect masterpiece.

Besides the wonderful story, the scenery is again gorgeously photographed. The acting is wonderful -- you end up feeling deep sympathy for all the characters in the film, no matter what their wrongs.

The first film was a solid 8, but this is definitely a rare 10.

After spending 2 hours with Manon, I'm still in shock, but in a way I saw it coming. The film proves that greed only last for a certain time, but love and being a good person is what lasts forever. That's where happiness lies.

Our crimes pay, it will eventually catch up with you, and this picture tells us best.

I won't say anymore.

The picture is as amazing as the first, Jean de Florette.

Having adored Jean De Florette, of which Manon of the Spring(or Manon Des Sources) follows on from, I found this film every bit as amazing. Once again the cinematography shimmers and the scenery is some of the best I have seen in any film. There is also a haunting score, a compelling story and a genuinely moving script, and Berri's direction is paced perfectly to suit life under the scorching sun. The performances are every bit as impressive, Emmanuelle Beart is alluring and very believable, and Yves Montand and Daniel Auteuil are once again outstanding, particularly Auteuil when he tries to atone. Overall, an amazing and I think poignant film. 10/10 Bethany Cox

This (and Jean de Florette) is the most moving, well thought out film I have ever watched. The countryside makes me long to go to France, to where it was filmed, to see "Les Romarins" and "Les Bastides". The music is like an eerie prayer that reminds my soul of "pauvre Galinette et ses rouges oeillets, et Papet Soubeyrans, et Manon Cadoret". The red carnations are a haunting image...

Both books are as good as the movies; I recommend anybody who likes this film to buy them (if you can read French, that is!). I would give everyone, Marcel Pagnol, Claude Berri, etc etc a gold medal for these works- well done!

By the way, have a look at the earlier version of "Manon des Sources". An actress called Jaqueline Pagnol is in it -she is the wife of Marcel Pagnol who wrote both books!

I always felt that the week I needed to show the two films was worth the time for the students: they heard other-than-Parisian accents and they saw truly fine films! I enjoyed watching them as well, but I always went to the front of the room toward the end of Manon so I could watch the reaction of the students at the "revealing" scene near the end. One year, a young lady whom I did not particularly like was glued to the TV closest to her: her eyes widened, her mouth gaped, and perfectly silent tears started to flow down her cheeks. Not a motion, not a sound...just tears. I decided I liked her quite a bit more than I previously had!