Une hirondelle a fait le printemps (2001)

Director:

Christian Carion

Writers:

Christian Carion (writer) and
Eric Assous (writer)

Release Date:

5 September 2001 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

The sleeper hit that has already charmed more than 2 million French moviegoers.

Plot:

Sandrine, a woman in her thirties gets tired of life in Paris and decides to leave her work in computers and become a farmer...

Awards:

3 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Michel Serrault	...	Adrien
Mathilde Seigner	...	Sandrine Dumez
Jean-Paul Roussillon	...	Jean
Frédéric Pierrot	...	Gérard
Marc Berman	...	Stéphane
Françoise Bette	...	La mère de Sandrine
Christophe Rossignon	...	L'exploitant
Roland Chalosse	...	Le barman
Achiles Francisco Varas dell'Aquila	...	Barfly
Henri Pasquale	...	Card player
Paul Courat	...	Card player
Bernard Gerland	...	Card player
Ramon Bertrand	...	Card player
Grazziela Horens	...	Dark-haired girl
Vincent Borei	...	Dark-haired boy

Also Known As:

The Girl from Paris (UK) (USA) (festival title)
One Swallow Brought Spring (International: English title)

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Malaysia:U | Iceland:L | Brazil:14 | Finland:K-11 | Germany:6 | Norway:7 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Vercors, Drôme, France

Company:

Artémis Productions

Soundtrack:

Je tir' ma révérence

Just how many swallows do make a summer ??

A stressed Parisienne decides to take up sheep-rearing in the Massif du Vercors, situated not far from Grenoble, France. She buys up a farmstead and the owner of the latter remains on site while waiting for transfer to a town. The film is basically about the tense relationship between the young lady played by Mathilde Seigner and the retired farmer played by Michel Serrault who generally tries to make life hard for her but eventually is taken with affection by the same young lady. I am no fan of Michel Serrault, but his performance in this film is excellent as is that of Mathilde Seigner. Although the script is limited in scope, the dialogues and development of the characters may be followed with pleasure by the spectator. The décors are magnificent as the film was made in natural surroundings so we see the mountains change in form and colour according to the passing seasons. I would strongly recommend the film to people of all countries as it has a very universal message. It may be noted that the film was made by someone who has a very rural background. It is now available on DVD in France and the editor has taken the unusual (but welcome) step of including English Subtitles on the DVD. The title is a play on words because the expression `Une hirondelle ne fait pas le printemps' = `One Swallow doesn't make a Summer'. So it's as if you were saying ` One Swallow has Made the Summer' ! This film deserves to be successful outside France, unlike many of the other mediocre productions of that country today !