Manon of the Spring

Manon of the Spring continues the story begun in Jean de Florette, Claude Berri's adaptation of Marcel Pagnol's novel. Years after her father died while struggling to farm land he believed had no water, Manon has grown into a young shepherdess living in the hills of Provence. She learns that the Soubeyran family, who took over her father's farm, deliberately blocked the spring that would have saved him. Ugolin, who now prospers from his carnations and wants Manon for himself, finds his advances rejected, and she sets about avenging her father.

Berri directed the film and wrote the screenplay with Gérard Brach. It was made and released in 1986, the same year as Jean de Florette and directly after it; Berri's other directing credits include Sex Shop, One Wild Moment, Germinal and Hunting & Gathering. Yves Montand plays the family patriarch César Soubeyran, with Daniel Auteuil as his nephew Ugolin and Emmanuelle Béart as Manon; Hippolyte Girardot, Margarita Lozano and Yvonne Gamy are also in the cast. It runs 115 minutes.

On IMDb the film holds 8 out of 10 from around 26,000 votes, while on TMDB it has 7.6 out of 10 from far fewer votes. A critics' rating of 8.6 out of 10 from 32 reviews places it above both audience scores.