Stepping away from his previous roles as a modern urbanite, Daniel Auteuil shot to fame as Yves Montand’s “sub-intelligent nephew” (Variety) in this hugely successful historical drama set in the idyllic prewar French countryside. The two men play shifty, unscrupulous farmers conspiring to gain access to a spring on land owned by novice homesteader Gérard Depardieu, who moves there with his wife and young daughter. Auteuil’s magnificent performance earned him a César (a French Oscar), and together with the follow-up, Manon of the Spring, the film was a huge commercial success.
