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As Good As It Gets

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

I happened to catch this sweet film at the Alliance Francais French Film Festival in Adelaide today, as my French class went for an excursion. I was pleasantly surprised. The Well Diggers Daughter is a simple story: set during World War I in France, the young daughter (Patricia Amoretti) of a poor well digger falls in love with a young, handsome, rich pilot (Jaques Mazel). They share some moments together, but almost immediately he is called away to fight on the front line in the war. He leaves and three weeks later is presumed dead, due to his plane being shot down in flames and crashing behind enemy lines. Meanwhile, the young well diggers daughter is now pregnant. Shocked, her father disowns her and sends her to live with her aunt. The Well Diggers Daughter was a nice, feel-good movie about family and young love. All the characters were very well acted, in particular the father (who I'm pretty sure was actually played by the film's director). The scenery was just gorgeous. In almost every scene, there were these beautiful wide, establishing shots of the countryside, which always had a lot of trees, barely any civilization and lots of sunshine and waving grasses. The music was also great. I noticed in the credits that all the music was composed by a personal favorite: Alexandre Desplat, who actually wrote the music for New Moon (that was a bad movie, but the music was beautiful). The only problem I have with this movie is that it was a bit cheesy. Especially at the end, everything was sorted out perfectly fine, with everybody happy. And rather abruptly, the character of Jaques came back, perfectly fine, from the war, where he was meant to have died. I was disappointed by that, not that he lived of course, but that everything was suddenly just fine. It was an enjoyable, sweet film about family and love. 8/10

This marvelous film is based on a Pagnol novel which I had never heard of. Maybe it's well-known in France and so the title is familiar to audiences there. But in the US "The Well Digger's Daughter" should keep people away from this film in droves. In fact, the film is an old fashioned fable set in the French countryside during the period of World War I. Even though the plot turns are seen coming a mile away, the film has such charm and simple feeling and wisdom, that there is enormous pleasure in watching the story unfold. Auteuil is perfect as the father, as is every other actor, especially Astrid Bergès-Frisbey as the daughter of the title and Nicolas Duvauchelle as her 'prince'. And the music by Andre Desplat is one of his best scores. The setting and the lives of the characters are so beautifully depicted, there is so much pleasure to be had in entering their world for two hours, that it seems a shame that American audiences will have to overcome their disinclination to see a movie about a well-digger and his daughter when there is this rich and deeply emotional story waiting for them in the cinema.

I am totally satisfied with this choice. It's one of the best french movies from last year. It tells a wonderful story in the very nice Provence from South of France. It's about ethical family values for father Amoretti and his children. The dialogs have great quality and let me reflect from begin to the end. It was never boring because I felt lot of emotions with the plot. Then the performance and direction from Daniel Auteuil was one of the best I have seen so far. Congratulations to the author Marcel Pagnol for this novel. Astrid Bergès-Frisbey played very respectable the role of the daughter Amoretti. The young pilot didn't convince me because his character was portrayed here too clunky and his voice heard inappropriate. The film shows very nice pictures from this beautiful region. For all these reasons it deserves a solid 9/10. Don't miss it, you won't regret. I will add it to my best of DVD collection. Don't miss the great thriller 36 QUAI DES ORFÈVRES with Daniel Auteuil.

A wonderful cast facilitate Daniel Auteuil's vision of wartime France in this gentle, love-filled drama/comedy about a working man's attempt to maintain the honour of his family after his eldest of six daughters go astray.Pascal has always wanted a son, but finds himself a hard-working widowed father of six daughters instead. When the son of local bourgeoisie, the Mazels, seduces his daughter before being packed off to war, Pascal and his daughter are ill-treated by the frosty Mazels. Pascal learns not to trust people "who sell tools, but never use them." But he is also honorable, exiling his disgraced daughter Patricia, who herself refuses compromise by rejecting the repeated proposals of her father's co-worker Félipe, an honest, industrious, but prosaic individual. Pascal has honour, but Félipe has love. The war intervenes in events, not once but several times, becoming a catalyst that brings to resolution the feud between the two families from opposite classes.Auteuil handles the comedy effortlessly, but also shows depth and steel when darker tones are needed, such as handling the humiliations dished out carelessly by the shallow, emotionally volatile Mrs. Mazel. Astrid Bergès-Frisbey is simply superb as the much-wronged Patricia. Her expression when waiting by the church for a lover she believes has spurned her is exquisitely pained.The direction keeps most of the action outdoors or in daytime, allowing Provence to glimmer and shine. There are small moments of poetry here; Pascal turn-taking a kiss with his youngest daughter as they wait for guests;interactions with a baby who melts everyone's heart, cast and audience alike; the strong bond of friendship between Pascal and Félipe.This is a well-crafted tale of love, family, work and honour that never gets too sentimental and earns the many tears and smiles it evokes. An uplifting, joyful film, and we all need one of those from time to time.