A father in pre-WWII France is torn between his sense of honor and his deep love for his saintly daughter when she gets in trouble with the wealthy son of a shopkeeper.
Lovers of bucolic Vaucluse landscapes won’t complain and the performances are convincing enough, yet Auteuil’s film feels like it could have been made before the French New Wave.
To paraphrase Casablanca, the problems of these characters don’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world, but those looking to lose themselves in bucolic beauty won’t be disappointed.
Fans of Manon Des Sources will revel in Auteuil's performance. He proves he's a dab hand behind the camera, too, with a touching romantic drama.
Daniel Auteuil stars and makes a very competent directing debut with this handsome, old-fashioned film.
It is an undeniably handsome production but one that lacks the sting that made Jean De Florette so unforgettable.
However fluffy the plot may be, this is fluff of the enjoyable kind.
Auteil's film is nicely locked to a time and place but the tone is all over the shop, ranging from spells of light comedy banter to grand dramatic speeches, most of which he reserves for himself.
French actor Daniel Auteuil makes a competent rather than scintillating directorial debut.
Edinburgh Filmhouse, Edinburgh from Friday December 16, 2011, until Thursday December 22, 2011. More info: www.filmhousecinema.com
Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow from Friday December 23, 2011, until Thursday January 5, 2012. More info: http://www.glasgowfilm.org/theatre/
Cameo, Edinburgh from Friday January 6, 2012, until Thursday January 12, 2012. More info: http://www.picturehouses.co.uk/
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