Daniel Auteuil has made a remake of this film, first shot in 1940 by Marcel Pagnol.
The story circles around the well-digger Pascal Amoretti (Auteuil) and his pretty daughter Patricia (Astrid Berges-Frisbey), Pacal's friend Félipe (Kad Merad) and the rich family Mazel.
When delivering lunch to her father and his companion Félipe, Patricia meets ayoung man by the name of Jacqus Mazel (Nicolas Duvauchelle) and of course they immediately fall in love.
Unfortunately for Patricia:
1. Her father has already plans for her concerning mariage and the contemplated bridegrum is Félipe,
2. Jacques is sent to the ongoing war, as he is a skilled pilote and
3. she is pregnant and the father is Jacques.
Patricia's answer to Félipes proposal, before he also leaves for the front, is no;
Jacques disappear without saying goodbye but asks his mother to leave a message to Patricia at a certain meeting place, something Mrs Mazel never complies with, in spite of her promising to do so.
As Patricia's pregnancy is seen as something disgraceful by her father, the latter contacts the Mazel family with a proposal concerning mariage when Jacques, hopefully, gets back from the warfront.
Mazels is not at all inclined to consent to this arrangement, least of all Mrs Mazel who believes that Amoretti is doing this only to get hold of their money, looking at the approach as a form of black mail.
On the same time they are embarrased by the fact that their son has had a relationship with a person from the 'lower classes' and this can't become public of course.
Disgraced Pascal sends his daughter of to the town, all alone. This in order to let her find her own job and a family who might take care of her, in spite of her pregnancy.
Meantime Jacques is reported missing after his plane is shot down behind enemy lines.
Félipe returns and offer himself to marry Patricia in spite of her carrying another mans baby but for Pascal, she doesn't exist anymore.
On the whole I must say that Auteuil hasn't succeeded in making this film as heartrending as it could have become.
It's a story that certainly appeals to the general public as one knows exactly on what strings to play emotionally, but for those of us who have seen this kind of mise-en-scène and story telling before, it becomes to sentimental and doesn't touch me/us at all.
The young actress, Astrid Berges-Frisbey, is to one-sided in her emotional and mimic action but this might as well be a result of the direction by Auteuil.
In the role as Monsieur Mazel we see Jean-Pierre Darrousin, a very fine actor, perhaps less known abroad than his two male colleagues Auteuil and Merad.
The story circles around the well-digger Pascal Amoretti (Auteuil) and his pretty daughter Patricia (Astrid Berges-Frisbey), Pacal's friend Félipe (Kad Merad) and the rich family Mazel.
When delivering lunch to her father and his companion Félipe, Patricia meets ayoung man by the name of Jacqus Mazel (Nicolas Duvauchelle) and of course they immediately fall in love.
Unfortunately for Patricia:
1. Her father has already plans for her concerning mariage and the contemplated bridegrum is Félipe,
2. Jacques is sent to the ongoing war, as he is a skilled pilote and
3. she is pregnant and the father is Jacques.
Patricia's answer to Félipes proposal, before he also leaves for the front, is no;
Jacques disappear without saying goodbye but asks his mother to leave a message to Patricia at a certain meeting place, something Mrs Mazel never complies with, in spite of her promising to do so.
As Patricia's pregnancy is seen as something disgraceful by her father, the latter contacts the Mazel family with a proposal concerning mariage when Jacques, hopefully, gets back from the warfront.
Mazels is not at all inclined to consent to this arrangement, least of all Mrs Mazel who believes that Amoretti is doing this only to get hold of their money, looking at the approach as a form of black mail.
On the same time they are embarrased by the fact that their son has had a relationship with a person from the 'lower classes' and this can't become public of course.
Disgraced Pascal sends his daughter of to the town, all alone. This in order to let her find her own job and a family who might take care of her, in spite of her pregnancy.
Meantime Jacques is reported missing after his plane is shot down behind enemy lines.
Félipe returns and offer himself to marry Patricia in spite of her carrying another mans baby but for Pascal, she doesn't exist anymore.
On the whole I must say that Auteuil hasn't succeeded in making this film as heartrending as it could have become.
It's a story that certainly appeals to the general public as one knows exactly on what strings to play emotionally, but for those of us who have seen this kind of mise-en-scène and story telling before, it becomes to sentimental and doesn't touch me/us at all.
The young actress, Astrid Berges-Frisbey, is to one-sided in her emotional and mimic action but this might as well be a result of the direction by Auteuil.
In the role as Monsieur Mazel we see Jean-Pierre Darrousin, a very fine actor, perhaps less known abroad than his two male colleagues Auteuil and Merad.
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