Sleeper Films: “Manon des sources”

I thought it might be interesting this week to bring to the attention of the GITS community favorite movies of ours that might have slipped beneath the radar. They could be indie features, foreign movies, or older films, but while they may not have achieved much in the way of notoriety, something about them clicked with you — memorable characters or scenes, compelling plots or dialogue. What are some of your favorite ‘sleeper’ films?

My recommendation today is the 1986 French film Manon of the Spring. It is the sequel to yesterday’s sleeper film Jean de Florette, the pair of movies combining to create a truly special story. Written and directed by Claude Berri (with Gérard Brach from a novel by Marcel Pagnol), the movie stars Yves Montand, Daniel Auteuil, and marks the debut of Emmanuelle Béart. The movie’s IMDB summary:

In this, the sequel to Jean de Florette, Manon (Beart) has grown into a beautiful young shepherdess living in the idyllic Provencal countryside. She determines to take revenge upon the men responsible for the death of her father in the first film.

The movie’s trailer:

A scene from the movie:

Here is Roger Ebert’s review of the movie:

There is something to be said for a long story that unfolds with an inexorable justice. In recent movies we’ve become accustomed to stories that explode into dozens of tiny dim-witted pieces of action, all unrelated to each other. Cars hurtle through the air, victims are peppered with gunshot holes, heroes spit out clever one-liners, and at the end of it all, what are we left with? Our hands close on empty air.

“Manon of the Spring,” which is the conclusion of the story that began with “Jean de Florette,” is the opposite kind of movie. It moves with a majestic pacing over the affairs of four generations, demonstrating that the sins of the fathers are visited upon the children. Although “Manon” is self-contained and can be understood without having seen “Jean de Florette,” the full impact of this work depends on seeing the whole story, right from the beginning; only then does the ending have its full force.

I was fortunate enough to see both films at their U.S. premiere at the Telluride Film Festival in 1987. Truly one of the most powerful cinematic experiences of my life. Watch these movies. Only make sure you watch them back to back to grasp the tragic sweep of the story.

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