This is an excellent adaptation of Zola's much-debated novel about the peasants ,the 15th volume in the Rougon-Macquart saga.A lot of people thought when the book was published ,that Zola gave to the world a too pessimistic vision of the people from the country,that he showed them as beasts.It's a far cry from George Sand's pastoral works such "La Mare Au Diable" or "La Petite Fadette" .
André Antoine focused his movie on the patriarch, Le Père Fouan,whereas the novel had no central character but a profusion of cupid tight-fisted greedy men and women,each one more despicable than the one before.As the book was part of the Rougon-Macquart saga ,Zola had to introduce one member of that family into the story :Jean Macquart plays a similar part to that of Etienne in "Germinal" .And he is featured in the movie too;even Uncle Charles is showed ,in a very short sequence and there is a hint at his "sweets shop" ,in fact a brothel.
Le Père Fouan wants to retire,so he divides up his land between his two sons,Buteau -who got a girl pregnant and is waiting for his share to marry her- and Jesus -Christ -who lives with his daughter,La Trouille (=Jitters and not "Pest" as the subtitles read),by poaching ,and his daughter Fanny ,a fanatical about cleanliness.
Le Père Fouan seems at first the only positive character (with the exception of Jean,but Jean is an outsider),a victim of his offspring's ungratefulness:but he is much like them when he hides his "treasure" .Le Père Fouan realizes in the admirable scenes that the land should not have been divided ("look what the ants do with it "one of his pals says);he used to own this land ,this ocean of fields on the plains around Chartres (the movie was filmed on location),and now ,he is only looking for a place to live in .But it's too late and only the earth can greet him.
Directed by André Antoine;one of his assistants was none other than Julien Duvivier,whose legendary pessimism would show in his masterpieces .
André Antoine focused his movie on the patriarch, Le Père Fouan,whereas the novel had no central character but a profusion of cupid tight-fisted greedy men and women,each one more despicable than the one before.As the book was part of the Rougon-Macquart saga ,Zola had to introduce one member of that family into the story :Jean Macquart plays a similar part to that of Etienne in "Germinal" .And he is featured in the movie too;even Uncle Charles is showed ,in a very short sequence and there is a hint at his "sweets shop" ,in fact a brothel.
Le Père Fouan wants to retire,so he divides up his land between his two sons,Buteau -who got a girl pregnant and is waiting for his share to marry her- and Jesus -Christ -who lives with his daughter,La Trouille (=Jitters and not "Pest" as the subtitles read),by poaching ,and his daughter Fanny ,a fanatical about cleanliness.
Le Père Fouan seems at first the only positive character (with the exception of Jean,but Jean is an outsider),a victim of his offspring's ungratefulness:but he is much like them when he hides his "treasure" .Le Père Fouan realizes in the admirable scenes that the land should not have been divided ("look what the ants do with it "one of his pals says);he used to own this land ,this ocean of fields on the plains around Chartres (the movie was filmed on location),and now ,he is only looking for a place to live in .But it's too late and only the earth can greet him.
Directed by André Antoine;one of his assistants was none other than Julien Duvivier,whose legendary pessimism would show in his masterpieces .