Quartile rating: 8/10 · 1 rating
In this, the sequel to Jean de Florette, Manon has grown into a beautiful young shepherdess living in the idyllic Provencal countryside. She plots vengeance on the men who greedily conspired to acquire her father's land years earlier.
Manon of the Spring is the triumphant second half of Claude Berri's Pagnol adaptation, where the revenge plot unfolds with almost Greek tragic inevitability. The plotting is masterful — the slow revelation of the spring's source, the cruel irony of Ugolin's doomed love for Manon, and the devastating final twist about César's past make for genuinely exceptional dramatic construction. Yves Montand, Daniel Auteuil, and Emmanuelle Béart all deliver performances of rare depth and conviction, with Auteuil's Ugolin a particularly heartbreaking creation. The Provençal landscape is photographed with luminous beauty by Bruno Nuytten. The ending, with its crushing disclosure about Jean de Florette's true identity and César's unknowing role in his son's death, ranks among cinema's great tragic conclusions. Novelty is the one area where a slight concession is warranted — as a sequel completing an adaptation, it operates within an established framework — but the execution remains distinctive and assured.