On 4/21/2020 5:46 PM, Bill Anderson wrote:
The DVD arrived today. It’s another Marcel Pagnol movie that I really
wanted to watch, but I had to give up. It’s the problem Calvin Rice
described regarding his copy of FANNY: no shades of gray. The light
elements are washed-out white, and the darks are just black, and the
subtitles are illegible. I also ordered a copy of the 1991 Daniel
Autueil Version, which seems to have become lost in the mail. This is
a big disappointment.
And now I have seen the 1940 and 2011 versions of THE WELL-DIGGER'S DAUGHTER.
It's a fine story, no real surprises, the same plot in both movies of
course, all played out in Marcel Pagnol's trademark Provence. An humble well-digger, a widower, is raising five daughters, the oldest of whom
goes a bit too far in celebrating her 18th birthday with a rich and
handsome aviator, the son of a prominent local family. To his surprise,
his Captain shows up later that evening and takes the young man away to
war, leaving the girl behind and, as she discovers a couple of months
later, pregnant.
The bulk of the story focuses on familial traditions in Provence, how
all this is handled, what a proud father must do with a wayward
daughter, what happens to the baby, can the child really be allowed to
take his maternal grandfather's name, do the paternal grandparents have
any claims when they learn their son has died in combat and the
grandchild they denied earlier is all they have left of him, and on and
on. Family. Love, grief, new life, tradition, the important stuff.
The 2011 version is gorgeously photographed in color, the acting and
casting are superb, and the dialogue by Marcel Pagnol is reliably
beautiful and moving. The newer version is terrific and I recommend it without reservation.
The 1940 version I saw is a washed-out B&W print with English subtitles
that fade into the scenery so completely they are often illegible. I had
to watch the 2011 version first so I at least had an idea what was being
said in the 1940 version. The plan worked pretty well, but still I was
left disappointed often as major speeches were lost in the faded print.
I could not recommend anyone watch the 1940 print of THE WELL-DIGGER'S DAUGHTER that I saw. I wouldn't have watched it all the way through
either if I hadn't just a) paid for a copy; and b) decided to fight
social distance boredom by comparing the two movies.
The big difference I found between the two movies was in directorial technique. Director (and star) Daniel Auteuil's 2011 version played out
much like any other modern movie with camera angles and editing and
pacing that never drew attention to themselves. Marcel Pagnol's 1940
version, on the other hand, was almost in-your-face odd at times. More
than once he put his characters in a medium close-up and held it,
steady, no cutting away, while discussions, arguments, solo speeches
would go on for several minutes at a time. I think we're not accustomed
to that style of filmmaking these days, but I have to say that while the shots did call attention to themselves, they worked just fine. They
added to the charm of the movie. But...disappointment again...the
subtitles for the well-digger's speech about his decision to exile his
fallen daughter from the family were displayed over a white stone wall
and I could read none of it. Too bad.
Finally -- the actors. Everybody in the 2011 version was excellent, no complaints from me. The film's director, Daniel Autueil, also played the
part of the well-digger to perfection. Just a wonderful performance.
But there were three performances in the 1940 version that proved unforgettable. Raimu (Cesar from the Marseilles Trilogy) was the poor
but proud well-digger Pascal Amoretti, and as in the earlier movies the
play of emotions across his middle-aged face was a wonder to behold. He
loves his daughter, he can't let her stay, he must cut off all contact,
his heart is broken, he meets the baby, his resolve is broken... It's so
well done.
And then there's Charpin (M. Panisse from the Marseilles Trilogy) as the aviator's father, M. Mazel -- so dignified, so shocked, shocked in front
of his wife that their son could have fathered a child (of course he
knew about the boy's apartment in town), so distraught that with the
death of his son the family line will come to an end, unless...the baby...
Let's not forget Fernandel (M. Topaze from TOPAZE) who I liked much
better in this movie. (Raimu, Charpin, Fernandel -- the French sure were stingy with their names.) His ugly mug proved perfectly suited to the
part of the assistant well-digger Felipe who had to settle for daughter number two.
Both versions of THE WELL-DIGGER'S DAUGHTER are fine movies, but I
recommend you watch the 2011 version...unless you can find a restored
1940 version. Which reminds me: yesterday the postman delivered to my
door a newly-restored Criterion Blu-Ray special edition of Marcel
Pagnol's THE BAKER'S WIFE which I intend to watch ASAP. It's not like
I've just discovered Pagnol -- I've known for years that his stuff was
great. It's just that for some reason I seem to have a lot of time on my hands lately and I'm looking for interesting diversions and I'm finding Marcel Pagnol's work meets my needs just fine. I do love a good movie.
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