The Well-Digger's Daughter (2011 film)

The Well-Digger's Daughter
File:The Well-Digger's Daughter poster.jpg French poster
Directed by	Daniel Auteuil
Produced by	Alain Sarde
Screenplay by	Daniel Auteuil
Based on	The Well-Digger's Daughter (1940 film) by Marcel Pagnol
Starring	Daniel Auteuil Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey Kad Merad Sabine Azéma
Music by	Alexandre Desplat
Distributed by	Kino International (company) (USA)
Release dates	20 April 2011 (2011-04-20) (France) 9 December 2011 (2011-12-09) (United Kingdom) 22 July 2012 (2012-07-22) (United States)
Running time	107 minutes
Country	France
Language	French

The Well-Digger's Daughter (French: La Fille du puisatier) is a 2011 French romantic drama film. Daniel Auteuil makes his directorial debut as he stars alongside Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey, Kad Merad, Sabine Azéma, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, and Nicolas Duvauchelle.

The screenplay by Auteuil is based on the 1940 French film of the same name written and directed by Marcel Pagnol.

Plot

Jacques Mazel, the son of a wealthy merchant, and Patricia Amoretti, daughter of a well-digger, live in a small village in the Provence region of France while Europe is at the brink of World War II. She has just turned 18 and is smitten with the handsome Jacques when he carries her across a stream to bring lunch to her father who is digging a well. After their second encounter Jacques, a French Air Force pilot, is unexpectedly reassigned. He must leave immediately to replace a pilot who recently broke his leg. Because he cannot meet Patricia as planned the next morning, he leaves an explanatory letter for her but his overly protective mother burns the letter. Patricia concludes Jacques rejected her because they come from different social classes. Later, Patricia discovers that Jacques has left her with child. The parents of Jacques reject the idea that their son conceived a child out of wedlock and refuse to acknowledge the baby. Her father, who had idolized her, sends Patricia to live with his sister in another village to spare his four other daughters from learning of the illegitimate child. Patricia declines an offer of marriage from her father's friend, Félipe, partly because her younger sister, Amanda, has a crush on him. Eventually, Jacques, who was thought to have been shot down by the Germans, returns from a POW camp and learns he has a son.

Production

The original music score was composed by Alexandre Desplat and features Caruso’s haunting rendition of Core n’grato.

Selected cast

• Daniel Auteuil as Pascal Amoretti
• Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey as Patricia Amoretti
• Kad Merad as Félipe Rambert
• Sabine Azéma as Madame Mazel
• Jean-Pierre Darroussin as Monsieur Mazel
• Nicolas Duvauchelle as Jacques Mazel
• Marie-Anne Chazel as Nathalie

External links

• Official website
• The Well-Digger's Daughter at IMDb
• The Well-Digger's Daughter at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Well-Digger's Daughter at AllMovie