The Well-Digger's Daughter

And now it's time for another round of Movie Recommendations by Chelsea!
I suppose it would be more traditional and expected for me to write about everything I've been doing while visiting my family and dear friends in America. But hey, expect the unexpected! Step outside the box! Write cliches with exclamation points!
So I watched an incredible movie the other night. I'm always in the market for a good romantic movie, but one without any scandalous sex scenes, but then again, one that isn't cheesy and horrible. It's a delicate balance, and very few fit the bill. But leave it to the French to produce a heart-tearingly romantic film with nary a smooch in it.
Voila! It's called "The Well-Digger's Daughter."

Or in French it would be, "La Fille du Puisatier."

I loved the love stories. I was a little scared when I started watching a romantic French film, afraid my eyes would catch fire from all the scandalous nudity. Heck, the movie we watched in high school French class didn't even have a love story, but there was the crazy lady, out dancing in the field buck naked. But even though the romance in THIS movie was compelling and beautiful, everyone was fully clothed the entire time. The only kiss in the whole film was when the father kissed his daughter on the forehead. I was amazed at the director's talent in portraying such a compelling story in such a subtle way. I laughed. I cried. I wiped my eyes really fast so I could keep reading the subtitles. It was a great film!

I didn't realize it was going to be a French movie, since on Netflix, it was listed in English. But then the credits started listing all these French names with "avec lui lui lui" as the director and stuff. So... thank goodness for subtitles! I think I relearned all my high school French just by following along with the dialogue. I felt guilty that I wasn't watching a Portuguese movie, since that's what I really should be studying these days. Oh well.

The writing was so poetic, too! Maybe part of it was simply that it was in French, and it sounded poetic translated into English. But I think it was just poetic anyway. I love it when movie lines make you stop and think. 

And then there was the BEAUTIFUL scenery. It takes place in Provence, and what a fantastic place! I remember learning about 'les tomates provencal' in French class, followed by the disastrous attempt to make them that following evening. My only recipe was my French teacher's brief description that they're "tomatoes stuffed with herbs and bread crumbs." I made the stuffing in the blender and baked them for a while. It's the only thing I ever made for my family that NO ONE ate, not even my mother. But Provence apparently has a lot going for it. Le-voila!

It's not just me, right? I mean, I've spent the last two years in a grey Communist pavement community.
But this is gorgeous, right? 

So... everyone go watch it. It's on Netflix. The Well-Digger's Daughter.  It's awesome.