Rating: 
Summary: Interesting
Review: This is the second film in a set,following Jean de Florette. I actually prefered this to the first film. However, not being a native french speaker, I found one or two of the characters quite difficult to understand. Over all a thoroughly enjoyable film. Not especially deep or important but rather fun.
Rating: 
Summary: Make sure you see Jean de Florette first
Review: This is the second part of a two part series, and picks up where Jean de Florette leaves off. If you do not see Jean de Florette, then you will be missing much of the background of this movie, and the context is important. For example, without viewing the first movie, the viewer will not know Manons background, what happened to her father, and their farm. The viewer will also not know the full relationship she has with the Soubeyran clan.The quality of the DVD picture is avarage. The picture is fairly clean and clear.
Rating:
Summary: Extraordinarily powerful!
Review: This second chapter in the story that began in "Jean de Florette", is such an extraordinary tale of love, hate, pain, revenge and tragedy that even the events which transpired in the previous film cannot prepare you for the tragic events of this film. Like a greek tragedy, the events slowly but surely unfold, and even the characters who we have come to despise become tragic and sympathetic by the film's conclusion. Rarely can there be found a film of this dramatic power. Easily one of the best French films of the 1980's!
Rating:
Summary: Extraordinarily powerful!
Review: This second chapter in the story that began in "Jean de Florette", is such an extraordinary tale of love, hate, pain, revenge and tragedy that even the events which transpired in the previous film cannot prepare you for the tragic events of this film. Like a greek tragedy, the events slowly but surely unfold, and even the characters who we have come to despise become tragic and sympathetic by the film's conclusion. Rarely can there be found a film of this dramatic power. Easily one of the best French films of the 1980's!
Rating:
Summary: Great introduction to "Foreign" films
Review: This was the movie that made me fall in love with French movies. Also, Emmanuelle Beart's beauty captured my attention (her talent was totally wasted in Mission Impossible). Together with the first movie they are classics.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: We had to watch this in French class and I thought it would be a really boring movie, but it wasn't. This is a wonderful movie for students studying french and anyone who likes the language. Jean de Florette is the movie before this one and it is also awesome.
Rating:
Summary: great finish
Review: Well done, a bit of a fairy tale ending whereby all the loose ends seem to be tied up, not as poetic as the first part, "Jean de Florette", but the surprises and the lessons about what makes life really worthwhile are still very powerful!
Rating:
Summary: revenge before love
Review: When the french do something well, they do it very very well. This is one of the most moving films I have ever seen, the story of a troubled young woman who struggles to overcome the impact of a terrible crime on her family. Beart, who became a major star due to this film, has never been better or more beautiful. Also, the impact of the crime on the perpetrators is equally profound, a study on guilt and sanity, with Auteuil and Montand acting with equal excellence to Beart. It is a pity that so few films like this are made. Get it.
Rating:
Summary: 5 for the 1st, 4 for the 2nd
Review: While I loved both movies, Jean de Florette and the sequel Manon of the Spring, I would rate the first of the pair to to have an edge over the second. They are both masterfully done, and you really can't watch just one of them, as they are an inseparable pair, the first movie forming the background for the second, and the second providing the resolution for the first. Without giving up too much of the story, these movies tell a story of greed, "accidental" murder, and resolution with the likes of Greek tragedy--critically and tenderly revealing the mysterious nature of the human heart. Two of the best set of movies ever in my lifetime. My only criticism of the 2nd movie is the weak portrayal of the young woman, which came down to either poor direction or perhaps a poor casting decision. Overall, this flaw can be overlooked, as these two movies will stand as classics for many years to come.
Rating:
Summary: Heartfelt, understated drama.
Review: Within my top five favourite films at this point, Manon of the Spring is a conventional, brilliantly acted story of lost romantic longing, revenge, redemption, and forgiveness. Daniel Auteuil shines as the physically unattractive Ugolin, smitten with hopeless desire for the wild shepherdess Manon (the heavenly Emmanuelle Beart), daughter of the deceased Jean (from Jean de Florette). Their interaction in this pastoral countryside is priceless, especially if you know the back story, the complicated character dynamic between Manon and Ugolin. Manon's subsequent revenge on the entire town has a tragic air to it, because though you know she's justified in her actions, the townsfolk are portrayed in such intimate detail that you will find yourself drawn to them, sympathizing. Much like the peasants of Seven Samurai, you see their folly, but feel for their distress. Director Claude Berri has the good sense to let the very intense dramatic situations in this story play out in a naturalistic, restrained manner. Instead of bursting out into the proclamatory Jacobean mode, Manon of the Spring lets the tragic moments and points of emotional outburst breathe, instead of drowning them out in tirades of sentimental outburst. The results are simply stunning. I saw this film before I saw its predecessor, Jean de Florette, and the result was a wonderfully different experience. I recommend trying it out as an experiment -- Manon of the Spring stands on its own as an autonomous piece of superb storytelling, but its reverberations change once you've seen Jean de Florette.
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