Manon des Sources

Jean De Florette and Manon des Sources (Manon of the Spring) are a French movie duology concerning a city man and his family after they inherit a plot of land rich in resources in the French backcountry.

The first movie, Jean de Florette, involves the plotting of the farmer Ugolin and his cunning uncle he calls Papet, as they work to subtly drive a young city man named Jean off the plot of land he has inherited from his mother, Florette.

The second movie, Manon des Sources, takes place 10 years later and involves Jean's daughter, Manon, as she solves the mystery of what happened to her father and deals justice to the village that condemned him.

The two films were originally conceptualized as one, also called Manon des Sources, but due to the author's dissatisfaction the story was rewritten as a novel with the addition of a prequel, called Jean de Florette. The two volumes are known together as L'Eau des collines (The Water of the Hills). From these two books, the two films were eventually made.

Both films were critically acclaimed, and were nominated for and won numerous awards, including 10 BAFTAs.


 * Abhorrent Admirer: In Manon of the Spring, Manon thinks this of.
 * Anguished Declaration of Love:  for Manon, in Manon of the Spring. She is horrified.
 * Bad Samaritan: Ugolin in Jean de Florette.
 * Blue Eyes: Manon. In both films, many of the shots with her are closeups of her face, with lighting to make her eyes seem especially incandescent.
 * Confessional: Used and referred to several times in Manon of the Spring, as the village is Catholic.
 * Death Seeker:
 * Did Not Get the Girl: Papet
 * Fish Out of Water: Jean in Jean de Florette. The movie centers on him, an ex-tax collector from the city, trying to adapt to country farming life. He believes he can learn and succeed at anything with enough preparation.
 * Gossipy Hens: The village men, who gather around and drink while discussing farming. They are also crucial to the downfall of Jean, as
 * Hair of Gold: Manon.
 * Heel Realization: Twice. In both cases they knew that they were being selfish/evil, but did not realize to what extent. First, . Second,.
 * Hopeless Suitor: See Triang Relations.
 * Identical Grandson: Florette and Manon.
 * It Got Worse: Jean's attempts to have a successful farm. It ends
 * I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: In the end,  for Manon.
 * Justice Will Prevail: Manon's revenge.
 * Kissing Cousins: In Jean de Florette, Papet explains to Ugolin that the family line was ruined because of cousins marrying cousins. In Manon of the Spring
 * Love Before First Sight: Bernard for the mysterious goatherder that almost no one has seen.
 * Love Makes You Crazy:
 * My God, What Have I Done?: Rather heartbreakingly for Papet in Manon of the Spring.
 * My Greatest Failure: Papet's,.
 * Nature Spirit: Manon in Manon of the Spring can be seen as playing at this.
 * Nude Nature Dance: In tandem with the Outdoor Bath Peeping. Manon's dance is a rare example of this trope being played non-cheesily.
 * Outdoor Bath Peeping: In Manon of the Spring, a particularly creepy example occurs when Ugolin stumbles upon and watches Manon.
 * The Patriarch: Papet, who engineers the plot of Jean de Florette to the advantage of his nephew Ugolin and himself.
 * Redemption Equals Death:
 * Scenery Porn: The movie was filmed in Provence, France, and has since brought many tourists to the region.
 * Secret Keeper: Manon, the villagers, Papet and Ugolin, and the old blind woman.
 * Shallow Love Interest: Though you'd rather have Manon be with Bernard than, Bernard is definitely this.
 * Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Jean and his wife; Manon and.
 * Stalker with a Crush: Ugolin, concerning
 * This Means War: In Jean de Florette, this is Papet's response to another farmer disgracing the family name.
 * Too Dumb to Live:
 * Triang Relations: Type 4 in Manon of the Spring. Manon, Ugolin, and Bernard.
 * Twist Ending.
 * Villain Protagonist: Both Ugolin and Papet have pretty despicable motivations -- greed and petty vengeance, respectively. And although the deaths they cause are accidental, both times they show little remorse and quickly jump to how to take advantage of the situation.
 * Wild Child: Manon by the time of Manon of the Spring gives this impression to the village people. However she still has the good education her father gave her, and spends much of her time reading.
 * You Killed My Father: Manon toward Papet and Ugolin.