Jean de Florette

Jean de Florette
Theatrical release poster
Directed byClaude Berri
Written byClaude Berri
Gérard Brach
Marcel Pagnol
Produced byPierre Grunstein
Alain Poiré
StarringYves Montand
Gérard Depardieu
Daniel Auteuil
CinematographyBruno Nuytten
Edited byNoëlle Boisson
Sophie Coussein
Hervé de Luze
Jeanne Kef
Arlette Langmann
Corinne Lazare
Catherine Serris
Music byJean-Claude Petit
Giuseppe Verdi
Distributed byOrion Pictures (USA)
Release date
  • 27 August 1986 (1986-08-27) (France)
Running time
120 minutes
CountriesFrance
Italy
Switzerland[1]
LanguageFrench
Budget120 million Franc ($17 million)[2]
Box office$87 million

Jean de Florette (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ flɔʁɛt]) is a 1986 period drama film directed by Claude Berri. It was followed by Manon des sources, released the same year. Both are the adaptation of Marcel Pagnol’s 1963 two-part novel The Water of the Hills, with the second part also being adapted from Pagnol's original 1952 film Manon of The Spring. Berri's version was the first attempt at adapting the whole saga, including the first part, Jean de Florette, which was originally written as a prequel to the novelization of Manon of The Spring.

The story takes place in rural Provence in the 1920s, where two local farmers plot to trick a newcomer out of his newly inherited property. The film starred three of France's most prominent actors – Gérard Depardieu, Daniel Auteuil, who won a BAFTA and a César award for his performance, and Yves Montand in one of his last roles.

The film was shot back to back with Manon des sources, over a period of seven months. At the time the most expensive French film ever made, it was a great commercial and critical success, both domestically and internationally, and was nominated for eight César awards, and 10 BAFTAs. The success of the two films helped promote Provence as a tourist destination.

  1. ^ Erickson, Hal. "Jean de Florette: Overview – Allmovie". Allmovie. Retrieved 15 February 2009.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Variety was invoked but never defined (see the help page).