"Le petit monde de Pagnol"

A group of over a dozen of us gathered last weekend in the cosy wood panelled King’s Room overlooking the beautiful grounds of Madingley Hall.  Participants joined TWTF to enjoy another residential course that took us all to a new part of France in space and time, to “Le petit monde de Marcel Pagnol”.   Marcel Pagnol’s name is linked to the two films mostly shown in this country:  “Manon des sources” and “Jean de Florette” which are set in Provence.  Daniel Auteuil’s remake “La fille du puisatier” is soon to be released in UK cinemas. All three are good yet, to my mind, a far cry from the originals directed by Pagnol himself. The remakes all have the merit of keeping Pagnol’s name alive, providing one doesn’t get distracted by that of some more contemporary famous (or infamous) actors.  English students may stumble over the “provençalisms” of “La Gloire de mon père” and “Le Château de ma mère", but very little is known of the man behind the stories, Marcel Pagnol, his life, the immense success he had in his time and the “little world" he created around him.  Pagnol, member of the prestigious Académie française since 1947, is looked upon as classical writer. 

Pagnol is not only highly celebrated in Provence and in Marseille, the European capital of culture for 2013, he is internationally renowned. Pagnol is known for doing a lot for his region.  The “marseillais” accent ceased to be mocked once Pagnol’s films were shown! He made the place and the people endearing, funny and lovable in his films such as “Marius”, Fanny” and “César”. The scene of “La partie de cartes” in “Marius” is as much cult as Cézanne’s painting of a similar card game in a South of France little café. These films were the first French “talkies”.  Pagnol directed the films himself, surrounded by his team of actors and technicians in his own little “Provençal  Hollywood” as it was known, hence the name of  “le petit monde de Pagnol”. The films were inspired by his own plays and other Southern topics and stories. He was criticised by his peers for being too theatrical but the public didn’t care and actors such as Fernandel, Raimu, Pierre Fresnay or Orane Demazis became immortalised on film.

Pagnol was very attached to his roots, his family, and the memory of his childhood holidays in the scented hills covered with “garrigue” and lulled by the song of “cigales”.  Provence made him the man he was and in turn he celebrated this part of France beautifully. The two are indissociable. He was fascinated by the people, the ordinary people around him, the way they spoke, their daily activities, their idiosyncrasies and their destiny. It was quite touching to see that this little boy of simple origin reached the summit of wealth and fame through “working hard and well” at school as recommended by his father who was a school teacher in awe of “l’école de la république”. 

Pagnol bears witness to the “making of France” into the “hexagone”  as we know it today through the educational system where the teaching of the French language was made compulsory for all. Of course there remained a touch of accent but Fernandel told us above how meaningful that is and Gilbert Bécaud sang it for us.  The whole group took pleasure in the discovery of the little world of Pagnol and their comments were almost unanimously impressive.This was one of the most enjoyable weekends so far.... See you next time...  Finger on the calendar button!