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THE WELL-DIGGER'S DAUGHTER (LA FILLE DU PUISATIER)Movie Reviews
French language drama about the effects on two families when the daughter of a humble well digger becomes pregnant by the son of a wealthy merchant at the start of World War I. Cast:Daniel Auteuil, Kad Merad, Sabine Azema, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Nicolas Duvauchelle, Astrid Berges-Frisbey, Emilie Cazenave, Marie-Anne Chazel, Coline Bosso, Chlie Malarde, Brune CoustellierDirector:Daniel AuteuilRelease Date:July 20, 2012DVD Release:December 26, 2012From:Kino LorberLength:1 hr. 45 min.
DECEMBER 26, 2012
The Well-Digger's Daughter (La fille du puisatier), Very Good Reviews Key Cities
The Well-Digger's Daughter (La fille du puisatier) played in key cities to very good reviews. • Kenneth Turan wrote in the Los Angeles Times, "...the kind of classically well-made endeavor that unrolls before us like a beloved tapestry. This is the kind of film they don't make anymore, only here it is." • And Boyd Van Hoeij wrote in Daily Variety, "...imbued with bucolic charm." More Reviews Below...
The Well-Digger's Daughter (La fille du puisatier) Positive Reviews (22 Reviews, reviews below)
Richard Corliss, Time: GOOD "The full-bodied performances of Kad Merad and Jean-Pierre Darroussin give everyone with an indulgence for old movies about old values a reason to see this..."(See all of Richard Corliss's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,187 words, 07/20/12
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: VERY GOOD(cg) "...constructed with the kind of clean, square moral and dramatic lines that make it feel sweetly, comfortably old-fashioned in its very quaintness."(See all of Owen Gleiberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 326 words, 07/20/12
Roger Ebert, RogerEbert.com: OUTSTANDING(cg) "To call this an old-fashioned film is to pay it a compliment.... a love story embedded in traditional values.... Daniel Auteuil makes a rock-solid Pascal."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 698 words, 10/05/12
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Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "...the kind of classically well-made endeavor that unrolls before us like a beloved tapestry. This is the kind of film they don't make anymore, only here it is."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 564 words, 07/27/12
Kyle Smith, New York Post: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a pleasingly old-fashioned but slowly paced story.... Daniel Auteuil's tangy accent and evident fondness for his character make the picture enjoyable..."(See all of Kyle Smith's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 199 words, 07/20/12
John Anderson, New York Newsday: VERY GOOD(cg) "...what resonates is a sense of humanity that sometimes gets lost in films with less regard for traditional storytelling, or respect for simple emotion."(See all of John Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 299 words, 08/10/12
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "To call this an old-fashioned film is to pay it a compliment.... a love story embedded in traditional values.... Daniel Auteuil makes a rock-solid Pascal."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 698 words, 10/05/12
Michael Nordine, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "Stirrings of dignified outrage via the eponymous well-digger eventually go a long way toward energizing the film, which improves markedly..."(See all of Michael Nordine's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 239 words, 07/18/12
KEY CITIES (8 Reviews)
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...decidedly, old-fashioned, but not necessarily in a bad way.... a relic of another time, both in terms of its quaint moral code and its even quainter moviemaking."(See all of Michael O'Sullivan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 474 words, 07/27/12
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: VERY GOOD(cg) "For lovers of classical French cinema, and I am one, this earthy throwback is a whiff of lavender borne by the bracing winds of the mistral."(See all of Carrie Rickey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 461 words, 08/03/12
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...classical moviemaking of a sort rarely seen now, a love story of surprising joy with rounded, flawed but humane characters."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 213 words, 08/17/12
Mark Feeney, Boston Globe: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Auteuil the director knows not to get in the way of Marcel Pagnol's plot machinery. Auteuil the actor is another story."(See all of Mark Feeney's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 617 words, 07/27/12
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: VERY GOOD(cg) "...old-fashioned in the best sense... something rare: a movie that provokes an anxious and intense rooting interest without providing a single villain."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 421 words, 07/27/12
Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...the kind of movie almost nobody makes any more: a period drama, filmed with painstaking attention to pretty costumes, beautiful landscapes..."(See all of Moira Macdonald's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 332 words, 07/20/12
Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: VERY GOOD(cg) "...impressive.... perhaps a bit too sentimental. But the performances are so heartfelt that its occasional excesses are easily forgiven."(See all of Calvin Wilson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 297 words, 08/17/12
Michael Nordine, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "Stirrings of dignified outrage via the eponymous well-digger eventually go a long way toward energizing the film, which improves markedly..."(See all of Michael Nordine's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 239 words, 07/18/12
Peg Aloi, Boston Phoenix: VERY GOOD(cg) "...despite a verbose script and the kneejerk sexism of Pascal, the visual beauty and narrative simplicity make the film a pleasure."(See all of Peg Aloi's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 139 words, 07/26/12
Bill Weber, Slant: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Auteuil hasn't sufficiently reimagined or given new weight to the material... curiously anecdotal, lacking the dramatic dynamism that could give Pagnol's tale new life."(See all of Bill Weber's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 404 words, 07/16/12
Ella Taylor, NPR: VERY GOOD "Auteuil smoothly handles a distinguished ensemble... an affecting tribute to the lush physicality of the Berri films and to Provence, where Auteuil grew up."(See all of Ella Taylor's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 659 words, 07/19/12
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "...the kind of classically well-made endeavor that unrolls before us like a beloved tapestry. This is the kind of film they don't make anymore, only here it is."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 564 words, 07/27/12
MOVIE INDUSTRY (4 Reviews)
Boyd Van Hoeij, Daily Variety: VERY GOOD "...imbued with bucolic charm.... The father-daughter coupling is the movie's central emotional axis and is never less than convincing."(See all of Boyd Van Hoeij's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 630 words, 05/01/11
Jordan Mintzer, Hollywood Reporter: VERY GOOD "...actor-turned-director Daniel Auteuil's reboot of four works by Marcel Pagnol... a polished, finely acted tale of love and class in the south of France.... charming..."(See all of Jordan Mintzer's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 657 words, 04/26/11
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "...the kind of classically well-made endeavor that unrolls before us like a beloved tapestry. This is the kind of film they don't make anymore, only here it is."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 564 words, 07/27/12
11.5 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
The Well-Digger's Daughter (La fille du puisatier)'s reviews are separated by an average 11.5 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
The Well-Digger's Daughter (La fille du puisatier) (22 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:The Well-Digger's Daughter (La fille du puisatier)'s reviews cover 39.3% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 10,118 words involume (average is 20,172 words). Length:The film's reviews average 460 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
The Well-Digger's Daughter (La fille du puisatier) Coverage, Volume & Length (22 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 56.6 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
The Well-Digger's Daughter (La fille du puisatier)'s reviews on average broke 56.6 hours before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is The Well-Digger's Daughter (La fille du puisatier)'s opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
The Well-Digger's Daughter (La fille du puisatier) (22 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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