A young boy's life in turn-of-the-century France. Marcel witnesses the success of his teacher father, as well as the success of his arrogant Uncle Jules. Marcel and family spend their summer vacation in a cottage in Provence, and Marcel befriends a local boy who teaches him the secrets of the hills in Provence.What strikes me about this film, early on, is the socialist teacher speaking such blasphemy as a 10-hour day and 6-day work week. The way the children react is pretty amusing, especially when we look back in hindsight. If I am not mistaken, the French have even more lenient working laws than America does.

In the mid 1980s Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources reminded film-goers just how great a storyteller Marcel Pagnol was. Of the 19 films he wrote and directed (18 for the big screen, 1 for television) no less than 12 were in the thirties, an era he dominated, but the three in the forties and three in the fifties probably reflected the fickleness of audiences rather than a falling-off of his gifts. In the wake of Jean de Florette and Manon Yves Robert adapted Pagnol's autobiography into two superb movies redolent of another era and something of a universal lyrical lifestyle - think of Life With Father, I Remember Mama, Meet Me In St Louis - that cries out rather than 'speaks' to us today. Not a great deal happens; Marcel relates how his parents met and married and first himself then a brother arrived. We watch Marcel grow to adolescence, love his parents, become a good scholar, learn to love not only the city but also the countryside, form a relationship with an uneducated yet 'worldly' boy from Provence. The cast, all virtually unknown outside France though all the adults have healthy CVs and Therese Liotard (Tante Rose) appeared in several episodes of the English television series Bergerac) are uniformly excellent and it would be churlish to single one for special praise. Everything is in perfect synch, story, setting, writing, directing, acting and music blending into something richly warm and nostalgic. 9/10.

I saw this film in France in 1990 and I was conquered by its beauty and the way its story gracefully flowed in front of the sumptuous background of beautiful Provence. Here is a film that relies on the simple pleasure of watching people living their happy life. pagnol's stories always were brilliant account of the Provence's charm and beauty. This is french cinema at its best! This film, together with its even better sequel "Le château de ma mère" is a concentrate of Provence for those who didn't have the time or the means to see it for real. Go rent it if you can find it in a repertoire video club! i saw it 3 times.

This beautiful, charming work (and its companion MY MOTHER'S CASTLE) is lifted from the memoirs of filmmaker/screenwriter Marcel Pagnol.It is a loving, romanticized recreation of Pagnol's childhood trips to the south of France.Director Yves Robert ices every scene with sweet affection and a seemingly effortless attention to detail.There are so many moving, heart-tugging scenes.Describing them all would spoil the confection.I'll mention one. Young Marcel accompanies his father, Joseph, a school teacher, to school one day. Not believing that Marcel can read already, Joseph writes a simple declaration of his love for Marcel on the blackboard. Marcel then surprises his father by reading out loud what his father wrote. It is such a touching, affecting scene.MY FATHER'S GLORY is bursting to the seams with such magic.Vladimir Cosma's score perfectly captures the period and tone of Pagnol's memories.Simply exquisite.