Jean de Florette and Dorset Dinosaurs

Sunday saw the film club reprobates assembled at Millbrooker Towers to watch Claude Berri's 1986 epic Jean de Florette. Before we started the DVD spinning, however, we had to lay out the evenings feastings.

Shazzerooneypoos and Dong had returned to the homeland comforts of Millbrook after taking a long ride to Shaftesbury (I believe that is a euphemism). Whilst enjoying the bucolic pleasures of Dorset they stumbled upon a wee shopette which sold all sorts of nice snacky things. We were treated to dark chocolate coated orange peel (absolutely wonderful) and special Dorset Dinosaurs as shown in the headline photo.

Frankenkeith kindly posed a slice of sun-dried pepper to demonstrate our sophisticated taste in nibbles.

Anyway, on to the film. I'm not sure I can write a proper review; I simply loved it. It's one of those beautifully cinematographed films in which, on the surface, not very much happens; bubbling underneath though, everything in life is happening in microcosm. The "baddies", shown in the first still are scheming Provencal peasant farmers and come over as amusing rather than evil.

Gerard Depardieu gives an excellent performance as the eponymous city-type ingenue with big dreams of living the rural idyll by breeding rabbits and growing vegetables. The plot centres around his neighbours' desire to get their hands on his land, which they attempt by secretly blocking his principal water supply and then pretending friendship in the hope that Jean will sell the land to them once he's failed in his dream through lack of water.

It sounds like nothing, but it is one of the most delightful and meaningful films I can remember watching, Do get yourselves a copy and take a gander.