In the mid 1980s Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources reminded film-goers just how great a storyteller Marcel Pagnol was. Of the 19 films he wrote and directed (18 for the big screen, 1 for television) no less than 12 were in the thirties, an era he dominated, but the three in the forties and three in the fifties probably reflected the fickleness of audiences rather than a falling-off of his gifts. In the wake of Jean de Florette and Manon Yves Robert adapted Pagnol's autobiography into two superb movies redolent of another era and something of a universal lyrical lifestyle - think of Life With Father, I Remember Mama, Meet Me In St Louis - that cries out rather than 'speaks' to us today. Not a great deal happens; Marcel relates how his parents met and married and first himself then a brother arrived. We watch Marcel grow to adolescence, love his parents, become a good scholar, learn to love not only the city but also the countryside, form a relationship with an uneducated yet 'worldly' boy from Provence. The cast, all virtually unknown outside France though all the adults have healthy CVs and Therese Liotard (Tante Rose) appeared in several episodes of the English television series Bergerac) are uniformly excellent and it would be churlish to single one for special praise. Everything is in perfect synch, story, setting, writing, directing, acting and music blending into something richly warm and nostalgic. 9/10.
Review of My Father's Glory
