No, thank goodness!
But in May we only had three days of rain instead of six.
It hasn't rained in June, so we're owed five days of rain!
The heavens have 48 hours to settle their debt.
What's the shortest way?
You'd better go the easiest way.
Follow the valley down, but before you get to the village...
turn right and follow the road to the grotto.
Thank you. See you tonight!
It's beautiful!
We're the new owners.
But we don't want you to move out.
We just came to fetch water.
Don't worry. They came for some water.
They won't throw us out.
God bless you!
If that spring were near us, we'd have no problem.
Let's put our faith in the statistics and in Providence.
I'm going to Aubagne. Can I bring you anything?
No, thanks! Are you buying more seeds?
Even better! I'm going to get my breeders!
Come see them tonight.
Sure! I'd love to see your first rabbits!
I'll bring along snails for Madame.
See you tonight!
I chose young females who've had no litters.
That's vital for creating a new breed.
And now the male.
Manon, close the door!
He's terribly strong. He might get away.
Not from me, he won't.
Holy mother! What's that?
He's a cross between a giant rabbit and a ram.
I never saw anything like that!
It's got fur like a dog and ears like a donkey!
- Was it expensive? - Very expensive!
That's a strange one!
He's a breeder. Not young, but virile.
He looks fierce.
I bet he could eat a steak!
He sure got taken in!
What breed did he call it?
The Romarins breed.
Go, make us some nice baby rabbits, old man!
You're going to start the Romarins breed.
There isn't much inheritance money left.
But I'm sure we'll pull through.
Our bills are paid, and the worst is over.
I want you to manage the 1,123 francs that's left.
It should last us for a year.
In three months I hope to start selling my rabbits.
If necessary, we could sell my necklace.
- I was told it was worth 10,000. - Sell your necklace? Never.
I'd sooner go barefoot!
There's Ugolin's neighbor.
He thinks he's some big shit!
You should have aimed for his hump.
That's not funny.
Go on! You're too small!
Here's a big one!
What a beauty! A real Romarin!
How much?
It won't last.
It's enough for my vineyard, but not for his vegetables.
What do I think?
I think it's a disaster.
Water!
"Rain on Ascension Day washes your crops away."
Stop worrying.
Remember, a wet spring...
always brings a scorching summer.
In July his green garden will be yellow like ripe wheat.
His corn husks will crackle like patent leather shoes.
"Showers in June only bring ruin."
I'm off to sell my vegetables!
This is my gratitude for all your advice.
That rain was a godsend.
- You've no potatoes yet? - Not before three weeks.
Really? Look at mine!
How do you do it?
Amandine!
I keep forgetting she's deaf.
That's enough! Where's my dinner?
I'm hungry.
What's worse is that now he gives me advice!
It's all beautiful!
But I'm worried. Summer hasn't started yet.
It's July 20th.
In two more weeks we'll get those August storms.
Losing all this would be a shame.
My cistern is overflowing.
It holds 12 cubic meters, and I need three every other day.
I can hold out another week.
But it may not rain in a week.
One seed yields an ear with 400 to 450 kernels.
In theory the yield is 400 times the planted seed.
See, Aimee.
Even with a more reasonable estimate... say, 300...
I planted enough to yield three tons of corn. That should do.
Thank you, sweetheart.
We'll also have 20 tons of squash.
Even half would be plenty.
The manual suggests eight tons of feed a year.
We only have 720 francs left.
- The money from selling the rabbits? - That's included.
Now, more than ever, we need God's help.
There's no more water!
I expected this.
I thought we had a few days' water left.
If it doesn't rain tonight, we'll figure out something.
Luckily we have the Plantier spring.
Four trips a day will kill your donkey.
We can stock 850 gallons in a week.
- But we need rain within 10 days. - Ten days, this time of year?
Well, you never know.
If the heavens let me down...
could you rent me your mule?
- Sure! - Thank you!
Come on! A little bit more!
Galinette, if this beautiful weather keeps up...
his corn will be wiped out...
along with the rest.
What's wrong?
You gave me a scare.
It was only a dream.
It's the hunchback!
I'm out! I'm not here!
Is Mr. Ugolin here?
Isn't he home?
Ask him if he'll rent me his mule...
starting tomorrow.
It's urgent!
His mule. Tomorrow! Thank you!
My chickpeas are rotting.
My apricots dried up. They're the size of small peas.
My grapes won't make two casks of wine.
What a year!
The weather does as it pleases.
It's bad for us, but worse for him.
He needs 250 gallons a day.
He can't haul all that...
with a donkey and a woman and a hump.
Another week of sunshine and he's finished.
He wants to rent my mule. It'll be hard to refuse.
Idiot! Your mule would save him!
It can carry 100 gallons a day!
You told me to be friendly...
so I drank his white wine and called him Monsieur Jean...
and he's become my friend.
Dummy! You want to grow carnations or make friends?
What a dope! You sound just like your poor mother!
If you start to strangle a cat, finish it off!
Believe me, if he makes out this year, he'll continue...
and next year he'll start all over again.
And he'll be miserable all his life.
With the money I'll gladly pay him...
he can move back to the city.
By not lending him the mule, we're doing him a favor.
You're back at last!
Yes, for the grape harvest! It's our toughest chore.
Is everything all right?
No. I'm almost out of water.
It's a bad year. Everyone is hurting.
Even the grapes are shriveled up like raisins.
Could I use your mule?
My uncle's.
Not right now. It's harvest time.
In two, three days?
After my uncle's harvest...
Casimir and the blacksmith use the mule.
We do that every year. It takes ten days.
But, you know...
with this heat wave, we may get a thunderstorm tonight.
Your word in God's ear.
Here comes the loony!
He'll kill himself.
He can go back to tax collecting, but his donkey can't!
I pity the donkey.
Are mules expensive?
I think I can find one for about 500 francs.
I'll sell it in the fall for a profit.
But for that...
I'm asking you to make a sacrifice.
That is, a temporary separation...
from your necklace... if you agree.
To sell?
No, just to pawn it. There's no risk involved.
They'll lend me 2,000 francs for it. It's worth much more.
The mule will thrive on the mountain air...
and in two months I'll resell it.
Then we'll get the necklace back.
That's all right, isn't it, Mama?
Of course.
Time for bed. Tomorrow is a big day.
Do you mind giving it up?
I already have.
- What? - I've already pawned it.
- When? - Last month.
I had no more money...
You bought many things...
books, tools, bran for the rabbits.
And we drink lots of wine.
- How much did you get for it? - 100 francs.
100 francs?
The emeralds were fakes.
Please, God, make it rain.
In 20 minutes the cistern will be full!
What a beautiful storm!
Manon! I felt the first drop!
Me too, Papa!
I want to feel this blessed water on my face!
Thank you, God!
But it's raining over there!
The rain is over there!
I'm a hunchback! Have you forgotten that?
Do you think it's easy?
Isn't there anybody up there?
There's nobody up there!
What is that?
Aimee, come, look!
Look!
Dear God, what is it?
A windstorm! I'll run to the Plantier for water!
I have no time! Meet me at the spring!
Hurry! It's a matter of life and death!
Papa's sick!
Hurry!
Now I know why God gave me this hump.
She says she'll take the sun out of him.
She says if we don't take the sun out, he'll die.
All that for some lousy squash.
It's awful to see them work like slaves in this heat.
He just didn't plan it right.
His squash will never make it.
But he's got a spring at Romarins.
It seems to be plugged up.
Maybe it didn't plug up by itself.
Maybe one should ask the Soubeyrans. Maybe...
Never mind that.
The Soubeyrans do as they please and so do we!
It doesn't pay to mind other people's business!
The less talk, the better!
It's time for our move!
His fields are a disaster area.
He doesn't need to die, though.
Offer him six or seven thousand, but haggle with him.
Let me kiss you, Papet!
Stop that! Now hurry over there.
Wait! Bring him this bottle of new wine.
It'll do him good.
Your wine is delicious, but I have to face the facts.
My ventures failed.
It's a disaster.
I could blame it on fate...
or the unusual weather pattern...
but I'd rather blame my own stupidity.
My lack of common sense.
I thought I was clever, but, in fact, I was blind.
Blind to my biggest problem.
Water.
That's right. Without water it won't work.
That's in the past.
Now, here's what I'm going to do.
When I've regained my strength...
I'll dig a well.
- Where? - I'll use a divining rod.
Are you a dowser?
Not exactly.
But I have a special manual that I'll study carefully.
I'll learn to use the rod...
and I'm sure I'll find water.
You know how to make a well?
After all, a well is just a hole in the ground.
I'll make it 36 feet deep, and even if I don't hit water...
my problem is solved.
What good is a dry well?
I'll use it as a cistern!
A well that size will hold 43 cubic meters of water!
Spring rains will fill it up.
In the summer months, between this well and our cistern...
we'll have 55 cubic meters.
That gives us 36 days of worry-free watering.
We've had longer dry spells.
Where does a drought last 36 days?
The Sahara? Maybe!
Or maybe in the Gobi Desert!
But not here!
It's mathematically impossible!
Let's drink!
From what you tell me...
the only good news is that now...
he drinks red wine.
And the divining rod?
That's a nuisance.
Could his book teach him the secret?
Hell, no. It's no secret. It's a special touch.
- He might hire a real dowser. - You know any?
I knew one in Ombrees.
If he came to Romarins...
he'd locate the spring in a flash!
Is he still in Ombrees?
Sure, but luckily he's in the graveyard.
And then, a good dowser is expensive.
Did you talk money?
Not yet. He was drunk.
I think he's got no money left.
When it comes to money, you can never be sure.
I thought it moved!
- How is it going? - It's getting more difficult.
- Tough? - It certainly is!
I'm down to the white rock I told you about!
- The Cartinary? - Exactly!
If there's water under this rock, I'll reach it in two weeks.
But if it's under the Quaternary layer...
it'll take six months or more.
Now I know what a ditchdigger's thirst is.
This hits the spot!
Monsieur Jean, I have to be frank with you.
You may think this is none of my business...
but I feel sorry for you.
All the work you've done for the past two years...
It's madness. It'll kill you.
An interesting introduction.
You won't finish your well.
Even if you do, it's not enough.
You need a river for all your corn and squash!
This is no life for you, and that's the truth.
Go on. This is all very interesting.
A man like you belongs to the city.
You're educated. You could be a teacher...
or even a mailman with a nice neat outfit.
That's what you're meant for.
If you stay here, you'll kill yourself.
You're out of money... that's no crime. But you're skimping.
Eating rabbit and dandelion leaves you too weak for this work.
Then you drink too much red wine.
One day you'll just drop dead.
How will your wife and daughter manage then?
They haven't been looking too well lately.
I've noticed.
What's this farm worth?
To rent or sell?
To sell.
Just a minute.
It's hard to say. I hadn't thought about it.
It's no summer residence...
and without water, it's no use to a farmer.
The second cistern will add to its value.
Maybe. Maybe.
Seven thousand.
Is that all?
Let's say eight thousand.
You wouldn't sell your mother's house!
The price is perfectly reasonable.
It means I can ask our notary for a 4,000 franc mortgage!
Then you're not selling?
Never!
I'll never sell the house where I hope to live forever...
once we're rich!
We can manage quite well on 4,000 francs!
I'll buy a mule and some mining tools and dynamite...
to blast this damn rock!
In a year I'll pay off the mortgage and we'll be set.
You know what a mortgage is?
It's when a notary lends money to honest people who own property.
What honest people?
He'll have to sign official papers.
And if he doesn't pay on time...
they take his farm.
All right, now leave us alone.
There's something good and something bad.
The bad part is, if he gets 4,000 francs...
his venture may succeed next summer.
On the other hand, since he's a born loser...
many things can go wrong.
And dynamite and drinking don't mix.
In any case, whoever owns the mortgage wins.
So, I'll finance his mortgage myself.
If he succeeds, he'll pay me interest...
and repay the loan.
And if he fails...
we'll get the farm.
You're smart, Papet, real smart.
I'm smart because I have money.
It's all set!
You do the honors.
Go, get Mama! I want her to see the water shoot up!
An accident?
What happened?
I ran to see the water shoot up...
but some rocks were blown sky-high...
and landed on my head.
If you can talk, it's not too bad.
It was a small rock, Doctor.
When he tried to speak before, he ground his teeth.
He didn't suffer before going where we'll all go.
The rock must have fractured a cervical vertebra.
Even if I'd come sooner, it wouldn't have helped.
I just stopped the clock at Monsieur Jean's house.
Is that why you're crying?
It's not me that's crying.
It's my eyes!
What'll they do now?
They must have relatives. And they can sell the farm.
And you might buy it out of kindness?
It depends. What is it worth?
Not much. In any case, it wasn't worth a man's life.
8,000 francs is more than reasonable.
If there were a water source, it would be worth double.
But there's only one cistern, and the house is very old.
Once you pay off your mortgage...
and we deduct interest and fees...
you'll be left with 3,880 francs.
Sign here, please.
And initial these.
I must tell you that the buyer has been very generous.
You can continue to live here.
He's renting it to me. I'll only farm the land.
This is your home. I'll never come in without knocking.
For me, this will always be Monsieur Jean's house.
I've clowned around enough. Anyway, they're leaving.
Let's go.
I think I've got it!
There must be plenty of water down there.
Carnations, Galinette!
15,000 francs a year!
It's liquid gold!
What was that?
Nothing!
Just a hare caught by a buzzard.
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.
I hereby name you King of Carnations!