Jean de Florette
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77% Critic Match

Jean de Florette

For some men, land and water are more precious than flesh and blood.

7.7 / 10 1986 2h 2mPG French
Drama

Storyline

In a rural French village, an old man and his only remaining relative cast their covetous eyes on an adjoining vacant property. They need its spring water for growing their flowers, and are dismayed to hear that the man who has inherited it is moving in. They block up the spring and watch as their new neighbour tries to keep his crops watered from wells far afield through the hot summer. Though they see his desperate efforts are breaking his health and his wife and daughter's hearts, they think only of getting the water.

Cast & Crew

Yves Montand

Yves Montand

César Soubeyran, aka 'le Papet'

Lead
Gérard Depardieu

Gérard Depardieu

Jean Cadoret, hunchback, son of Florette

Daniel Auteuil

Daniel Auteuil

Ugolin Soubeyran, nephew of Papet

Elisabeth Depardieu

Elisabeth Depardieu

Aimée Cadoret, wife of Jean

Margarita Lozano

Margarita Lozano

Baptistine, Piedmontese of the cave

Ernestine Mazurowna

Ernestine Mazurowna

Manon Cadoret, daughter of Jean & Aimée

Armand Meffre

Armand Meffre

Philoxène, mayor

André Dupon

André Dupon

Pamphile, joiner

What People Are Saying

4.0
A staggering achievement of craft and ambition. Claude Berri's vision lands with breathtaking precision.
Manohla Dargis, The New York Times
4.0
Every frame feels alive. Jean de Florette is the rare release that takes its audience seriously.
Anthony Lane, The New Yorker