Review of Manon Des Sources

Introduction

Manon des Sources is set ten years after the tragic events surrounding Jean de Florette. Jean`s daughter, Manon (Emmanuelle Beart), has blossomed into a stunning young woman determined to avenge the death of her father. She uncovered the dastardly plot by César (Yves Montard) and Ugolin (Daniel Auteil) in the first film and now takes it upon herself to sort things out in her own way.

Her stunning beauty hasn`t gone unnoticed by the new village schoolteacher (Hippolyte Girardot) who takes a shine to her, but Manon doesn`t reckon on Ugolin falling for her too and he sets about to woo her as his bride. It`s time for the consequences of the actions played out in Jean de Florette to come to fruition which leads to a dramatic twist in the story at the end.

Video

This, like Jean de Florette, was made in 1986. The source print has been well taken care of so this looks very good. The 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer remains clear, well balanced and detailed. Once again, Bruno Nuytten`s photography beautifully captures the lush Provence countryside. There`s only the usual amount of dirt from time to time, and there`s very little of this to really complain about.

Audio

There`s nothing special here, just a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack. The film is a dialogue driven film with plenty here to keep you occupied; it`s clear and without hiss or distortion. As in Jean de Florette, the score here by Jean-Claude Petit is very good and adds subtle atmosphere.

Features

Static menus with nice backdrops with just English subtitles and a trailer. The subtitles are player generated and are well produced, easy to read. Unfortunately there`s nothing else on this disc. No bios, no production notes...

Conclusion

This film is billed as a sequel, and yes it`s the follow up, but it just feels like the natural extension to what`s been told before. The story rightfully concludes here with characters that we`re familiar with from Jean de Florette and doesn`t skimp on the small details. The simplicity of the storyline is still here and this helps keep everything well balanced throughout its 109 minutes. I was very keen to see this conclusion after the first part and watched it straight afterwards, it`s that good.

The cast here again have performed admirably. Emmanuelle Beart (Mission Impossible) as Manon has one scene where she dances naked in the countryside after a nice cool swim, bringing a new meaning to `au naturel`. They say that DVD can`t be worn out, but I beg to differ... I think the impressive performances here though go to the leading actors from the first film, Yves Montand and Daniel Auteuil as the scheming uncle and nephew team, César and Ugolin. They`ve aged a little in the story but their performances are just as captivating as in the first film. There are a couple of standout scenes between the dimwitted Ugolin and Manon which I found heart wrenching and it was quite tragic to watch how pathetic he really is. This really is a simplistic story with very well honed and interesting characters. Claude Berri and Gerard Brach have done a good job in adapting the original story.

If you get this film, then try and buy the first installment too, Jean de Florette, as well since they belong together. Also keep in mind that region 2 has an anamorphic transfer over the non-anamorphic region 1 DVD. Manon des Sources is a very good buy and something I don`t regret in the slightest. If you see it, I`m sure you`ll see why. Top stuff, recommended.