Jean de Florette is a totally Frenchie movie. First off, it has the only French actor that every English speaker knows of—hello!..My Father the Hero, Green Card—Gerard Depardieu. Yes, we’ve all seen him in recent years in Us or People in one of the beach issues where they show celebrities with cellulite and guts. He looks like one of the worst—in a speedo on the French Riviera or Jamaica or something. And, we all excuse him because he’s European, but really, we’re all just grossed out by his puffed-up body. It’s like seeing Arnold Schwarzenegger on the beach in teeny bottoms. He is Austrian, but, come on! Any way, I digress.
In Jean de Florette, Gerard looks good—albeit with some meat on his bones—because it is 1986 and he isn’t all bloated from booze or food or coke. Jean (played by Gerard) and his family inherit an old house with land—the same land that the jealous neighbor wanted to buy. Jean’s farm flourishes and he begins to raise rabbits. That’s when the neighbor finds a way to shove Jean’s family off the farm.
So, the pace is kind of slow, but it’s deliberate. When the neighbor really starts his trouble, you’ll appreciate that rhythm because you’ll find yourself right there with Jean, suffering all the way. Of course, Jean has a daughter that makes it into the sequel, Manon (Manon des sources: Jean de Florette 2). She’s a teenager in Manon and you’ll love it because, in typical French whore-ishness, there is an obligatory scene where the pretty blonde is dancing naked, oblivious to the Peeping Tom. Yeah, it’s good.
in that picture of the film, gerard looks like pinocchio! what's up w/ that?
ReplyDeletewell, he did play cyrano de bergerac. but, come on, he's hot in this movie, no?
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