Manthast Absolutely amazing

Calum Hutton It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Cristal The movie really just wants to entertain people.

writers_reign In the mid 1980s Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources reminded film-goers just how great a storyteller Marcel Pagnol was. Of the 19 films he wrote and directed (18 for the big screen, 1 for television) no less than 12 were in the thirties, an era he dominated, but the three in the forties and three in the fifties probably reflected the fickleness of audiences rather than a falling-off of his gifts. In the wake of Jean de Florette and Manon Yves Robert adapted Pagnol's autobiography into two superb movies redolent of another era and something of a universal lyrical lifestyle - think of Life With Father, I Remember Mama, Meet Me In St Louis - that cries out rather than 'speaks' to us today. Not a great deal happens; Marcel relates how his parents met and married and first himself then a brother arrived. We watch Marcel grow to adolescence, love his parents, become a good scholar, learn to love not only the city but also the countryside, form a relationship with an uneducated yet 'worldly' boy from Provence. The cast, all virtually unknown outside France though all the adults have healthy CVs and Therese Liotard (Tante Rose) appeared in several episodes of the English television series Bergerac) are uniformly excellent and it would be churlish to single one for special praise. Everything is in perfect synch, story, setting, writing, directing, acting and music blending into something richly warm and nostalgic. 9/10.

kevin shi Clever boy Marcel's father was a teacher. He was very proud of his father because his father was capable of doing many things he could not imagine. He also had a gentle mother and a naughty younger brother. One day his father decided to take them to spend summer vacation in the countryside. Marcel had a high expectation on it.The movie vividly revealed a happy childhood of a French kid. It did bring me back to my childhood. Although we were short of materials at that time, we did live carefree lives. I think that present children are not lucky as we were. They are always under the huge pressure of study. There is no happiness at all.There were many funny scenes in the movie. They were so natural that I could identify some of them. Everyone has one's childhood. No matter good or bad, it will be unforgettable.An excellent French family drama. 8/10

shneur This is a cinematic rendition of the first volume of Joseph Pagnol's memoir, directed by his friend Yves Robert and set at the turn of the 20th Century. The primary relationship it depicts is between a young boy, Marcel, played by Julien Ciamaca, and his schoolteacher father. It's a loving one, but to us strangely distant and formal, we might say "Victorian." The boy seems a bit old to still accept the lies told him regarding sex and reproduction: I didn't know the French were ever that prudish! Marcel is at an age where he deeply admires his father, yet has begun to see through the hollow pretensions of all adults. The title is perfectly chosen to encapsulate his conflict. In the course of his summer holiday in the countryside, Marcel meets a lovely friend, Lili, of whom I would have liked to see more (and who certainly would have set him right about the "facts of life". Sadly, both boys appear to have acted only in this film and its sequel, "Le Château de ma Mere."

LeRoyMarko This film is simply beautiful. Loaded with emotion. Marcel Pagnol's story as a kid growing up in Southern France. This is a film I saw for the first time about 10 years ago. 10 years later, I enjoyed it even more. Yves Robert makes you care for characters. Philippe Caubère is brilliant as the father, who's a teacher. The truly beautiful Nathalie Roussel: the caring mother and wife. Young Julien Ciamaca gives a strong performance as Marcel. And what about Didier Pain: I just love his way of playing Oncle Jules.Perhaps the greatest accomplishment of this movie is to make you travel to this part of the world, to make you feel that you're there when the story unfolds.87/100 (***½)Seen at home, in Toronto, on June 16th, 2002.