The culture of France comes to students Thursday night as the library shows "Manon des Sources" as part of the French Film Series.

"Manon des Sources," translated to English as Manon of the Spring, is a film about a beautiful woman, Manon, who exacts revenge on her village because of her father's wrongful death, said Mike Cummings, a film critic for the All Movie Guide.

"It's a really touching story and a classic," said Christine Tidwell, 23, from San Jose, Calif., majoring in French teaching. "It's one of those French movies that everyone should see because it's one of the most popular sequels; it's really well-made."

"Manon des Sources" is set ten years after its prequel, "Jean de Florette," in which Manon's father dies when a neighboring family blocks the water supply to his land. The prequel was shown last week.

Tyler Whittle, 22, from Chattaroy, Wash., majoring in French teaching, said "Jean de Florette" impressed him.

"I'm usually not the type of person to look for a lot of symbolism, but I found a deeper meaning," Whittle said.

Richard Hacken, the coordinator of the French Film Series, said both French speakers and non-French speakers should enjoy "Manon des Sources" because the story has universal meaning that could happen anywhere.

"I liked how they took something so simple, like a basic need for water, and made it into a two hour film with a sequel," Whittle said.

"Manon des Sources" is one of five films in the French Film Series for winter semester.

"I see the series as a way for people to get really involved in an environment where the language surroundings and culture kind of fuse and are readily absorbed to increase learning," Hacken said.

The French Film Series began during fall semester.

Its three-fold purpose is to give people a chance to learn about French language and culture, to function as an outreach from the Library to campus, and to get some of the classic master films out from their shelves in the Library's Learning Resource Center and onto the silver screen, Hacken said.

"It's a great service that they're doing," Tidwell said. "I feel really lucky for this opportunity and hope there will be more of them."

Professor Daryl Lee, part of the French department, said Hacken has done a good job of choosing an eclectic variety of films.

"The films are more recent, romantic and thought-provoking," Lee said. "The series answers a desire for foreign films and acts as a supplement to the International Cinema."

Hacken said he is unsure if the French Film Series will continue next year, whether another language will be chosen, or if the idea will rest for a while.

The movie starts at 5 in the Library auditorium. Professor Gary Lambert will give a short introduction.



Copyright Brigham Young University 19 Feb 2003