Manon des sources (1986) - film review

After the tragic death of his neighbour Jean Cadoret, César Soubeyran purchases his land so that his nephew Ugolin Soubeyran can grow carnations on an industrial scale.  As Cadoret’s widow resumes her opera singing career, his daughter Manon becomes a free-spirited goat-herdess, living alone in the hills nearby.  Anxious to continue the family line, César puts pressure on his nephew to find a wife, and this leads Ugolin to think he might marry Manon.  When the flower grower sees Manon taking an interest in the town’s new schoolmaster, he becomes jealous and realises that he is deeply in love with her.  Manon’s feelings for Ugolin are far from friendly, however.  When she learns that he and his uncle conspired to ruin her father, so that they could acquire his land at a fraction of its true value, she is consumed by a desire to inflict upon them a terrible vengeance.  Manon can have no idea of the terrible twist of fate that lies ahead...

The second part of Claude Berri’s widely acclaimed Jean de Florette diptych is a faithful rendering of the second volume of Marcel Pagnol’s novel L’Eau des collines, which was itself based on Pagnol’s earlier film Manon des sources (1953).  The film has the same artistic strengths as the first part and achieved comparable success at the box office, winning favourable reviews for its performances, screenplay and the sumptuous photography of the stunning Provençal location.  Although Berri was justified in releasing the two films separately (he had to do so in order to recoup the massive production cost), they are probably best seen together, watched consecutively as one four hour epic, to achieve the full emotional impact.

As with Jean de Florette, Manon des sources is a visual feast that is illuminated by some exceptional performances from a remarkable cast. Emmanuelle Béart won a César (in the Best Supporting Actress category) for her portrayal of the beautiful but (understandably) vindictive Manon, a role that effectively launched her international screen career.   As the simple-minded Ugolin, Daniel Auteuil subjects his audience to another heart-wrenching ordeal, and it is not hard to see why he instantly became one of French cinema’s most sought-after actors after making this film.  As excellent as Béart and Auteuil are here, it is fair to say that the film really belongs to Yves Montand - so authentic and poignant is his portrayal of the tragically fated César Soubeyran that you can hardly escape being shell-shocked by the film’s devastating denouement.

Claude Berri shows surprising maturity and restraint in his mise-en-scène (compared with some of his other films of this period) and comes close to repeating the brilliance of his first first great film Le Vieil homme et l’enfant (1967).  Not only is his version of Manon des sources extremely sympathetic to Pagnol’s novel  but it also conveys something of the spirit of Provence which is so evident in Pagnol’s own films.  Although he was not well-disposed to other directors adapting his plays and novels in his lifetime, Marcel Pagnol probably would have looked very kindly on this film and given Berri an unreserved thumbs up.

© James Travers 2011

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