Jean de Florette, town dweller, hunchback, idealist, seizes his chance on inheritance of a parcel of rural land: he, his wife and his daughter Manon will farm there. But the village patriarch and his nephew resist, and block the stream to his property. Denied its sustaining life Jean is forced to strap barrels to his back and struggle to a distant course of water; humiliation that brings bitter defeat and the shattering of his ideals. Amidst the hills and the ever changing seasons he seeks forgiveness and retribution. But it is through his daughter Manon that fate will be allowed to come full circle.
An epic tale of family tragedy, betrayal and revenge, this inspired Claude Berii's acclaimed films "Jean de Florette" and the sequel, "Manon of the Springs".
