The Agency's Posts

'Breaking Dawn review: Vampire tale is lifeless: Sure, the wedding's great, but the latest installment of the 'Twilight' saga fails to address major....
Read More>

Audition Workshops for Actors: OFFERING AUDITION WORKSHOP FOR ACTORS After years of full-service casting, we have seen....
Read More>

'Tower Heist's' Ferrari: Inspired by Nicolas Cage's living room: Twenty-five years ago, Matthew Broderick took a spin in a vintage red Ferrari and ran into....
Read More>

Brad Pitt says he plans to quit acting in three years: For anyone holding out hope for "Ocean's 14," your hopes are probably dashed.Brad....
Read More>

WEEGEE'S NAKED HOLLYWOOD: Weegee, a.k.a. photojournalist Arthur Fellig, derived his moniker from the phonic adaptation of....
Read More>

Private Coaching With J&R Creative!: Private Coaching for Talent with J&R Creative (Jennifer Peralta-Ajemian and Robin Carus -....
Read More>

Box Office: Sandler, DiCaprio can't beat No. 1 Immortals': "Immortals" fought off the competition at the box office this weekend, emerging....
Read More>

'The First Grader' seeks Oscar attention: Producers of 'The First Grader' believe their film is Oscar worthy. So they are mounting a....
Read More>

Oscars not lacking for excitement: With the Brett Ratner and Eddie Murphy turmoil and unusual best picture contenders ('The Artist,'....
Read More>

Eddie Murphy out as host of the Oscars: Less than 24 hours after Brett Ratner resigned as producer of the 2012 Oscars after making an....
Read More>

'Rock of Ages': Tom Cruise tries something really scary: singing: Tom Cruiserisked life and limb filmingaction sequences at the top of the world's tallest....
Read More>

Box Office: Surprisingly strong 'Puss in Boots' claws 'Tower Heist': The animated 3-D film debuted in the top spot last weekend, and was expected to fall behind....
Read More>
Review: 'The Well-Digger's Daughter' is fine French filmmaking
Posted on: 07/29/12
Share/Save/Bookmark
 

Daniel Auteuil's adaptation of the Marcel Pagnol novel is old-school in the most pleasing of ways.

Let "The Well-Digger's Daughter" take you back in time, not once but several times over.

This traditional French film tells the story of a complicated romance between a rich man's son and a poor man's daughter in the Provence region of a century ago, a time and place where that kind of love story was no easy thing.

"Daughter" is based on the classic work by Marcel Pagnol (who did his own adaptation in 1940 with actors Raimu and Fernandel). This new version is a chance for star Daniel Auteuil to revisit the world that elevated him to international prominence when he did films of two of Pagnol's other novels, "Jean de Florette" and "Manon of the Spring," a quarter of a century ago.

But best of all "Daughter" marks a return to old-school French moviemaking, the kind of classically well-made endeavor that unrolls before us like a beloved tapestry. This is the kind of film they don't make anymore, only here it is.

We owe all of this to Auteuil, who not only stars but also did the screenplay adaptation of the novel and ended up directing the picture as well. As someone who grew up in Provence, Auteuil has a feeling for both the nourishing beauty of the countryside and the peculiarities of the people who lived there, especially in the warm but frank way they were depicted by Pagnol.

Although the situations and the characters in "Daughter" sound standard, nothing was stock in Pagnol's hands. He saw people, especially the well-digger Pascale played by Auteuil, in all their baffling and endearing complexity. The poetry of language and emotion we can encounter are often unexpected and always welcome.

Before we are introduced to Pascale, we see his beautiful daughter Patricia walking through olive trees carrying a basket. It is her 18th birthday, and she is taking her beloved father a special celebratory lunch.

But before that meal can begin, Patricia (played by Astrid Bergès-Frisbey, who went from this film to"Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides") has a brief but telling flirtation at a rushing stream with Jacques (Nicolas Duvauchelle), the arrogant but perceptive only son of one of the town's richest merchants.

After Patricia delivers the lunch, we hear more about her as Pascale, a widower with six daughters, chats with his kindly but homely assistant Felipe (Kad Merad). Though he at one point allowed Patricia to live in Paris for years as the companion of a wealthy woman, he is beyond grateful that she returned home to care for her five siblings after the death of her mother.

"She's as kind as she is pretty," he says to Felipe. "She isn't a daughter, she's a treasure from the Good Lord." Felipe, who would like nothing better than to marry Patricia, needs no convincing.

Coincidence throws Patricia and Jacques together more than once, and though the young woman is convent educated, she is too much in love for anything else to matter. "I'm not myself anymore," she confesses to him. "I'm someone else."

What does matter in the lives of these young people is the looming and increasingly insistent presence of World War I as well as the attitudes of both her father and Jacques' parents. We can see where things are going in "The Well-Digger's Daughter," but only to a point, and surprise is integrated with familiarity in moving ways.

kenneth.turan@latimes.com

 
COMMENTS
Be the first to post a comment!


Post A Comment:




  • It's 2020! Start booking roles in commercials, fashion, films, theater and more with The Agency Online!

  • NEW WORKSHOP with Barbara Barna & Sean De Simone!

    Hi Everyone and Happy Summer! Sean at Sean De Simone casting and Barbara Barna are teaming up for a super informative and fun Hosting for Home Shopping workshop. A great opportunity for established or experienced TV Hosts and Experts interested in learning how to get noticed and how to get in....
  • MASTERCLASS W. Robin Carus & David John Madore

    A Special Offer for the Agency Community, from one of our favorite NYC Casting Directors! EMAIL FacetheMusicWithUs@gmail.com Or Eventbrite To Sign Up! Class Size is Limited.
  • Don't Fall Into The Comparison Trap

    Hi Everyone! As the second installment in an ongoing series of features by the Agency's amazing community, here's some sage advice from our own Regina Rockensies; a humble (& awesome)veteran we've had the pleasure of working with for a long time. Have an excellent week! : ) - The Agency....
  • One Model's Agreement

    Hi Everyone! As the first piece in an ongoing series of original articles by the Agency community, here's a short reflection on some of the values of professional acting & modeling that we can all keep in mind for our next casting. Good luck on your castings &shoots this week! : ) -....




 
home       castings&news       privacy policy       terms and conditions      contact us      browser tips
Official PayPal Seal