The Well Digger’s Daughter

La fille du puisatier

26 Sept 2012

Director: Daniel Auteuil

France

2011

107 min

Love and forgiveness are the overwhelming themes of Daniel Auteuil’s beautifully shot and hugely enjoyable directorial debut. It is no coincidence that this film reminds viewers of ‘Jean de Florette’ and ‘Manon des Sources’ – all three stories share a writer in Marcel Pagnol, as well as a leading man in Auteuil himself.

The superb script crackles with sharp dialogue, while the characters are, almost to a man, eminently likeable. The plot revolves around Pascal Amoretti’s (Auteuil) dilemma on discovering that his beloved eldest daughter has fallen pregnant, while the boy’s parents refuse to acknowledge the child as his.