The Well Digger's Daughter

In Provence the well digger Pascal has six daughters, and the eldest, Patricia, has just come home; she was educated in the city and has an air that does not belong to the village. Jacques, the son of a wealthy family, is interested in her. They have a brief affair and he goes to the front by air when the war begins. Patricia is pregnant. His family will not have it, and Pascal, to protect his own honour, sends his daughter away. Daniel Auteuil directs and plays Pascal. The source is Marcel Pagnol's film of 1940 of the same name, which Auteuil has remade. It is Auteuil's first work as a director. He had acted in Pagnol adaptations before and this continues that line. The subject is honour and class. Pascal loves his daughter and cannot withstand the pressure around him, and the film puts that contradiction at its centre. The Provençal landscapes and the period are carefully drawn; the visual language belongs to classic French provincial cinema. It stays faithful to the original and that was criticised; the film brings no new reading and looks too neat beside the older version. The acting is its strongest side; Auteuil plays the part without display. Who it is for: viewers who like French period film and Pagnol adaptations. Who it is not for: the narrative is predictable, the tone is too soft, and there is nothing new for anyone who knows the original.