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The Well Digger's Daughter [DVD]

Daniel Auteuil , Kad Merad , Daniel Auteuil    Parental Guidance   DVD
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
Price: Ł8.25 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Product details

  • Actors: Daniel Auteuil, Kad Merad, Sabine Azéma, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Nicolas Duvauchelle
  • Directors: Daniel Auteuil
  • Format: PAL
  • Language: French
  • Subtitles: English
  • Subtitles For The Hearing Impaired: English
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9 - 1.78:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: PG
  • Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
  • DVD Release Date: 27 Feb 2012
  • Run Time: 109 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B004X9YOOW
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,556 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)

Reviews

From Amazon.co.uk

Daniel Auteuil made the jump from in front of the camera to behind it with The Well Digger’s Daughter, choosing to adapt Marcel Pagnol’s story for the big screen. Pagnol also penned the source material to Jean De Florette and Manon Des Sources, two of the most acclaimed and popular French films of the past few decades. And while The Well Digger’s Daughter doesn’t sit side by side with them, it’s still a commendable piece of cinema.

Unashamedly old fashioned in its style, The Well Digger’s Daughter is set around World War II, with Auteuil himself playing the well digger of the film’s title. One of his daughters, meanwhile, is Patricia, and it’s she who begins a short relationship with the son of a wealthy family. He soon disappears, she discovers that she’s pregnant, and from there, the film’s core drama ensues.

You’d hardly call The Well Digger’s Daughter a hard-nosed tail, though, with Auteuil opting for a gentle tone, and an unfussy style for his feature. He recruits a strong cast, too, not least Astrid Berges-Frisbey, who previously made her Hollywood debut in Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

To Auteuil’s credit, it’s a beautifully shot film, one that gently deals with issues of class and standing, even if it’s never got any intention of landing a heavy punch. Still, the film is ultimately a strong, well-mounted production, albeit one that might not linger too long in your brain afterwards. It really is lovely to look at, though. --Jon Foster

Product Description

United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: French ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), English ( Subtitles ), WIDESCREEN (1.85:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Interactive Menu, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: It's the beginning of the WWII. South of France. Beautiful village girl Patricia (Astrid Berges-Frisbey), 18, is the oldest daughter of a well-digger, Pascal (Daniel Auteuil), who considers her a princess because of her moral qualities. She's kind, devoted. One day, she briefly meets a young man, Jacques, the son of Mazel, owner of the shop where her father buy his material. He's handsome and teasing. Her father's friend, Felipe, would love to marry her, and he invites her to an aviation show. She accepts his invitation only because she knows Jacques is a pilot and will be there. Soon, she'll carry his child, and he'll be gone, and the family will have to deal with this out-of-wedlock pregnancy... ...The Well-Digger's Daughter ( La fille du puisatier ) ( The Well Digger's Daughter )

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Auteuil at his best 3 April 2012
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Excellent, portraying the problems experienced by many outside the immediate protagonists of a relationship that goes further than it ought. It has a charm often found in French films that is totally absent from the products of the Hollyowood factory.

A must watch!
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42 of 44 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The Well Digger's Daughter 21 Mar 2012
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
An absolutely beautiful and stunning film. From the moment the film opens, with the shot of Patricia (the eldest daughter of the well digger and superbly played by Astrid Berges-Frisbey) walking across a Provencal field strewn with poppies to take her father his lunch, it was obvious that one was in for a cinematic treat. The scenes of the Provencal countryside are magnificent. Daniel Auteuil is marvellous - both as actor in and director of this piece - an adaptation of a novel, set in Provence in 1940, by Marcel Pagnol. The rest of the cast, including Nicolas Duvauchelle as Jacques, the young French fighter pilot with whom Patricia falls in love, do not disappoint. All were excellent in their respective roles, making this one of the best adaptations ever of a Pagnol novel. It should not be missed. Quite why this film failed to gain any awards, other than that of the World Soundtrack Award for 2011, beats me. It should have swept the board.
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42 of 44 people found the following review helpful
By Antenna TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:DVD
Set in the sundrenched Provence countryside near the town of Salon at the outbreak of World War 2, this soft-centred but often surprisingly moving tale follows the well-worn trail of the innocent young girl who falls for a wealthy cad. In this case, Patricia, daughter of a simple but fiercely proud well-digger finds herself pregnant after Jacques, spoiled son of the owner of the local hardware store, has been sent off to fight at the front. How will her father react when he learns that his "angelic princess" is no better than other girls? Will Jacques's doting mother feel her son should "do the decent thing" and marry the girl? As the well-digger observes, "You can't trust people who sell tools but don't use them."

Patricia is more than just a pretty face. In addition to receiving a period of education in Paris with a wealthy benefactor, she has a strong sense of honesty and integrity which may pierce Jacques's worldly cynicism, although you wonder whether he would be capable of being faithful to her in the long run.

There are some entertaining further plot twists in the dogged devotion to Patricia of Félipe,assistant to the well-digger Pascal. In turn, Félipe is loved in longsuffering silence by Patricia's younger sister Amanda. Then there is Pascal's blend of shrewdness and stubborn stupidity, his rueful shouldering of the burden of six daughters after his wife's death.

We see an exploration of some of the dilemmas of French rural society. It is shameful for a daughter to have a bastard child, yet a man's dearest wish is to have a boy child to bear his surname, even if at one remove as a grandson....

The film is well-directed by the respected French actor Daniel Auteuil who also plays the role of the well-digger, apparently drawing on his native southern accent. Although his acting may seem a little over the top at times, I have met Frenchmen prone to the vivid expression of such deep and rapid shifts of emotion.

Recommended as a watchable and entertaining if lightweight drama.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars A Lovely Story
I bought a few copies of this film for my daughters for Christmas. We all like Daniel Auteuil and just love the story.
Published 18 days ago by Sanfidele
5.0 out of 5 stars Quite Brilliant
Although with sub titles, this does not detract from a touching story, full of humour, set in beautiful French countryside.
Published 28 days ago by country mouse
5.0 out of 5 stars The Well Digger's Daughter [DVD]
Arrived promptly. Well packaged. Gentle film set before the first world war in France in a small country village setting. Highly recommended. Beautifully acted.
Published 1 month ago by Mr. S. Coooke
5.0 out of 5 stars Pagnol en images
One of the most charming adaptation of a French novel.....As good as Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources...Beautifully written and acted. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Hawcubite
5.0 out of 5 stars French language film - very beautiful
I loved the film. The language is easy to follow if you speak some french and of course there are subtitles.
Published 1 month ago by WendyWu
5.0 out of 5 stars A feel good film.
Its a lovely film that all the family enjoyed. It was quite moving and reminded me of Amelie. A joy to watch.
Published 2 months ago by Linda Margaret Hall
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent movie
Ideal family movie.Excellent story and acting.Have passed on movie to my grand children and it gave them as much enjoyment.
Published 2 months ago by Edmund Puddifer
5.0 out of 5 stars french film
a fine piece of cinema with great scenic effects and good cinema photography with excellent acting by the father and daughter
Published 2 months ago by eric auld
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful film.
A truly wonderful film, even my sister, who does not normally like foreign language films, watched it twice. Perfect for the hopeless romantic.
Published 2 months ago by pig99
2.0 out of 5 stars Foreign film with subtitles.
When I purchased the film there was no statement saying it was a french film with subtitles. Don't like watching films with subtitles so haven't watched it.
Published 2 months ago by dizzielizzie lawford
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