Manon des Sources (film)

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Manon of the Springs.

Directed by	Claude Berri
Written by	Claude Berri Gérard Brach
Starring	Yves Montand Daniel Auteuil Emmanuelle Béart Hippolyte Girardot
Release date(s)	November 19, 1986
Running time	113 min
Language	French
IMDb profile

Manon des Sources (released as Manon of the Springs in North America) is a critically acclaimed and commercially successful 1986 French language motion picture. Based upon the 1966 two-part novel by Marcel Pagnol, it is the sequel to Jean de Florette. The two films are often seen together as companions, as Manon des Sources relies heavily upon the story established in Jean de Florette and acts as a conclusion to the unresolved elements of the plot established in the first film. The plot echoes in several respects the story of St. Bernadette of Lourdes, who, following the instruction of an apparent Marian apparition, caused a spring famous for the healing properties of its waters to develop.

1 Plot
2 Production crew
3 Cast
4 Awards

[edit] Plot

See also: Jean de Florette

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Following the events of Jean de Florette, Manon —daughter of Jean— is living in the countryside of Provence near Romarins, the farm that her father once owned. She has taken up residence with an elderly Provençal couple who teach her to live off the land, tending to a herd of goats and hunting for birds and hare. Ugolin Galinette has begun a successful business growing carnations at Romarins with his uncle, César Soubeyran, thanks to the water provided by the spring there. Manon is determined to expose the two, and how they hid the presence of the spring from her father, to the inhabitants of the nearby town.

After seeing her bathe naked, Ugolin develops a crush on Manon, who is disgusted by him and his uncle; his interest quickly manifests into obsession. At the same time, Manon becomes interested in Bernard, a handsome schoolteacher who recently arrived in town. The film comes to a head when Manon loses a goat and finds the underground source of the spring, and the town's water. She takes her revenge on the Soubeyrans, and the townspeople who said and did nothing, by stopping the flow of water.

The townspeople quickly become desperate for water to feed their crops and run their businesses, and become paranoid that the water flow has been stopped to punish an injustice. They begin to round on the Soubeyrans, in the process admitting their complicity in the persecution of Jean, whom they saw as an outsider, and therefore unworthy of their trust. When matters reach a head and accusations begin to fly, Manon reveals what she knows, reinforced by the townspeoples' suspicions, and the confirmation of a long-silent observer, shaming César and Ugolin. She also reveals that Florette was the mother of her father, and therefore one of their own. Ugolin makes a desperate attempt to ask Manon for her hand in marriage, but the hate in her eyes is clear and the Soubeyrans are forced to flee in disgrace. Rejected by Manon, Ugolin commits suicide, thus ending the Soubeyran line.

The townspeople appeal to Manon to take part in a holy parade to the town's fountain, hoping that acknowledging the injustice will restore the flow of water to the town once more. With the assistance of Bernard, Manon unblocks the spring in advance, and water arrives at the town at the very moment that the parade reaches the fountain.

Destroyed by the loss of Ugolin, César has become a broken man. Delphine, an old acquaintance of César, returns to the town and tells of how Florette, his old flame, had written to him telling him of the child she carried, a child she tried to abort when she received no reply from César. Florette leaves the town for Créspin, and the child is born alive - but a hunchback. Because of the war, César never received the letter and never knew. In a cruel twist of fate, Jean, the man he drove to desperation and effectively killed, was the son he had always wanted. Devastated, César makes what amends he can to Manon and, lacking the will to live any longer, dies quietly in his sleep.