This is my favourite French movie of all time. The cycle of life and death, as symbolized at the wedding at the end while one of the characters visits the cemetary, is so poetically portrayed in this movie. Nobody is crudely and simply drawn here--you understand motivation, human nature, and the capacity for both good and evil that exists in all of us. The film would also be an excellent travelogue of Provence, and its slow, deliberate pacing enables you to envelop yourself in a story that unveils itself in its own sweet time. Even though Daniel Auteil's character was supposed to be evil, his love for Manon was so heartbreakingly portrayed you couldn't help but feel for him. And of course what can be said about Yves Montand--he can say more with one raised eyebrow on that great wrinkled face than Bruce Willis can mumble in an entire movie...the highest recommendation for both Jean de Florette and Manon of the Spring