Daniel Auteuil’s 2011 French movie La Fille du Puisatier (The Well Digger’s Daughter) is to Southern France what Dany Boon’s Bienvenue Chez les Ch’tis (Welcome to the Sticks) is to the North. A remake of Pagnol’s 1940 film of the same name, Auteuil’s film was voted one of the ten most popular movies in France of 2011.
Just as Dany Boon, who is from the north of France, provided us with a glimpse into the quirky culture of Northern France in his blockbuster film, Daniel Auteuil, who grew up in Avignon, offers us the gorgeous landscape of the rural South and shows us the values of honor and integrity of the proud people who live there, in this, his first effort at directing.
Playing the well digger of the movie’s title, Auteuil gives a remarkable performance as a fiercely stubborn widower of a family of six daughters. Although marketed as a love story between his eldest daughter and the son of a wealthy shopkeeper who is called off to war, the film cleverly interweaves the themes of the complex bond between a father and his daughter, social inequity and class distinction, family honor, and the devastating effects of war.
If watching Bienvenue Chez les Ch’tis made you want to visit Northern France (le nord), after seeing this touching story you will want to discover, or rediscover, the golden countryside of Provence, with its sing-song accents, magnificent weather, rolling hills and generous bounty. In the meantime, you can always revisit Auteuil’s magnificent interpretation of Ugolin in Claude Berri’s 1986 award-winning films, Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources, which also take place in hills of Provence. Le cercle est bouclé. We’ve come full circle.
French teachers : a useful link for activities to use in class around this film: http://www.lafilledupuisatier.com/LA-FILLE-DU-PUISATIER_Dossier-d-accompagnement.pdf
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