hyped garbage

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

A Major Disappointment

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Wow. I can see why some more recent film have used this plotline. Rarely does a sequel deliver as much as the first movie... Worth it. Good job.

This is the sequel to "Jean de Florette". Manon (Emmanuelle Béart) lives off the land as a goat herder. Her father hunchback Jean died failing to find water on their land. Her mother was forced to sell the worthless farm to Cesar Soubeyran (Yves Montand) who actually blocked and hid the spring that would have saved Jean. He and his nephew Ugolin (Daniel Auteuil) become rich growing flowers. Manon's mother is away playing Aida. Manon falls for young teacher Bernard Olivier. Cesar is pushing Ugolin to marry since they are the last of the Soubeyrans. Ugolin is obsessed with Manon and willing to give it all to her for her hand in marriage but she wants nothing to do with him. When Manon overhears two villagers confessing the village's reluctant collusion with Cesar's scheme, she blocks off the spring as revenge against Cesar and the village. It all comes to head and old blind Delphine returns to reveal a shocking secret of Jean's mother and Cesar's lost love Florette.It's not quite as great as "Jean de Florette". There is something poignant about the devastation of the first movie. There is something poetic about the sad ending. The second movie has the bad players have their comeuppance and it's not quite as satisfying. There is a poetic twist at the end and it's a reminder of the first movie. This is a solid sequel and I would suggest watching it back to back with the first movie.

When this movie ends, you will be devastated - and haunted forever by it. Here are the tragic consequences of pettiness, jealousy and evil scheming - graphically presented in a stunning two-part movie (Gerard Depardieu delivers a tour de force performance in Part 1, the movie Jean de Florette, which you need to see before seeing this movie, Manon Of The Spring). This brilliant French opus has been largely ignored and/or forgotten here in America but it sets a standard few American films of its time came close to achieving. I loved it so much I went out and bought the VCRs and recently (with great difficulty), the DVDs (which are hard to find, sadly). Few American movies come close to the greatness of this film duo and their memorable impact.

The second of two films based on Marcel Pagnol's novel , being perfectly adapted , including heartrending interpretations , superb photography and spectacular outdoors . This is a magnificent follow-up to Jean De Florette dealing with life a Provencal village in the 1920s , there two scheming countrymen planning their neighbour to fail his crop and ruin him by means of traps , as the city-born hunchback Jean (astonishing Gerard Depardieu who had his real-life wife Elisabeth Depardieu as screen-partner) chances for survival fade without water for his rabbits . As in drought-ridden Provence there is a single spring that is blocked by two nasty farmers . This sequel concerns on the adult daughter of the dead hunchback called Manon (Emmanuel Beart who subsequently married Daniel Auteuil) , as the action switches 10 years on , she plots vengeance on the two men , (a veteran Yves Montand and his rat-like nephew excellently played by Daniel Auteuil) , whose greedy conspiracy to acquire her her father's land caused his death years earlier. As there takes place as fight for a fertile piece of land. The vendetta proves greatest than she could ever imagine .This devastating follow-up takes up the tale of envy , deception , ambition and jealousy in 1920s rural France . This following is almost as good as the original , though results to be a less involving effort than its predecessor . The first and second installment were simultaneously filmed at a cost of 17 million dollars , a real French record and was a successful box office . On the whole this picture turns out to be sensitive , colorful and with great dramatic effect thanks to interesting as well as thought-provoking script by Gerard Brach , Polanski's usual , helped by the same director Claude Berri . Very good acting for a French all-star cast , such as Yves Montand who gives a touching performance , Daniel Auteuil is once again extraordinary as the dim-witted farmer and a gorgeous Emmanuel Beart as beautiful but shy shepherdess . Enjoyable support cast such as Hippolyte Girardot as the local schoolmaster , Margarita Lozano , among others .Rich cinematography by Bruno Nuytten , plenty of color with the warmth of a French countryside in summer . Emotive and sensitive score Jean-Claude Petit , including Giuseppe Verdi music . This well lauded and awarded motion picture was compellingly written and directed by Claude Berri , along the first part he creates an imposing achievement ; together they make up a dramatic masterpiece . It was showered with prizes , as British Academy : the best adaptation , screenplay and actor Daniel Auteuil ; and French Cesar to actress , Emmanuel Beart , and actor , Daniel Auteuil . Rating : Essential and indispensable watching . Well worth seeing .