The Well-Digger's Daughter

The directorial debut from French actor Daniel Auteuil is a WW2-set romantic drama based on the works of Marcel Pagnol, the beloved author of MANON DES SOURCES and JEAN DE FLORETTE. On the cusp of the Second World War in France, 18-yearold Patricia (Astrid Berges-Frisbey) cuts across the fields to take her well-digger father (Daniel Auteuil) his lunch. On the way, she meets a handsome young man, Jacques Mazel (Nicolas Duvauchelle). She is pretty, with the fine manners of a young lady; he is a fighter pilot about to be called to the front. They meet only twice but fall madly in love. However their romance is curtailed as Jacques is called away to fight in the war. Still pining over her missing love, she finds herself pregnant, and in the middle of a rift between her father and Jacques' upper-class parents (Jean-Pierre Darroussin and Sabine Azema). The Mazels refuse to acknowledge their grandchild, accusing Patricia of blackmail. But when Jacques is reported missing, will the bond of family triumph over class division?