Jacquou le Croquant (miniseries)

Jacquou le Croquant is a 1969 French miniseries in 6 episodes: five 90-minute episodes and one 120-minute episode. The series was directed by Stellio Lorenzi and aired from October 4, 1969 to November 8, 1969 on Office de radiodiffusion télévision française channel 1.

Jacquou le Croquant
GenreHistorical
Drama
Based onJacquou le Croquant
by Eugène Le Roy
Written byStellio Lorenzi and Michèle O'Glor
Directed byStellio Lorenzi
Country of originFrance
No. of episodes6
Production
Running time570 minutes (9h30min)
Original release
NetworkORTF
ReleaseOctober 4 (1969-10-04) –
November 8, 1969 (1969-11-08)

It was based on Eugène Le Roy's 1899 novel of the same name which was based on 19th-century peasant revolts in Southwest France.[1]

Plot

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1819: Jacquou Féral is an 8-year-old boy in the Périgord region of France. His father, Martin Féral, also called Martissou, is a tenant farmer for the Count of Nansac,[a] who lives in Château de l'Herm and exploits peasants under contract to him. Nansac's steward, Laborie, doubles the Féral family's dues on a whim, and when his wife, Marie, successfully negotiates back to the original dues, Laborie then accuses Martin of illegally owning a hunting dog. Laborie kills the dog, his bullet ricocheting and injuring Marie, at which Martin, furious, kills Laborie. Aware of the potential consequences, Martin escapes into the nearby forest, leaving his family at the farm.

Nansac eventually has Martin Féral sent to prison, where he dies. Meanwhile, he evicts Marie and Jacquou, and seizes their sheep and remaining wheat, effectively condemning them to poverty and itinerancy. In time, Marie dies of hunger and sorrow. Jacquou, now an orphan, is taken in by the parish priest Bonnal, who gives the young man an education. As an adult, Jacquou continues fighting the injustice brought on his family, and dreams of avenging them. As increasing numbers of peasants are no longer able to survive the harsh rule of landowners, Jacquou leads a peasant rebellion against Nansac. His desire for revenge is transformed into a fight for justice, in which he proves that a simple "croquant", which means "yokel", is the equal of lords and ladies.

Cast

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Production

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List of episodes

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  1. Les Métayers des Nansac
  2. La Nuit de la Chandeleur
  3. La Tuilière
  4. Le Curé Bonnal
  5. La Révolte de Fanlac
  6. 1830

Novel

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Eugène Le Roy's novel of the same name was published in 1899, itself based on true events of 19th-century peasant revolts in Southwest France. The story occurs in 1815 in the Périgord region.

Videography

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  •   zone 2 : Jacquou le Croquant, May 15, 2002, ASIN B00006471B
  •   zone 2 : Jacquou le croquant, TF1 Vidéo, 2002, 3 DVDs, EAN 3-384442-021654.

Notes

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  1. ^ Although Le Roy used real locations and historical figures in his novel, the place Nansac and the title Count of Nansac are fictional.

References

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  1. ^ Lafon, Cathy (October 24, 2013). "En 1969, quand « Jacquou le Croquant » débarquait à la télévision" – via Sud Ouest.
  2. ^ "Jacquou le croquant, D8 : qu'est devenu Eric Damain, héros de... - Télé Star". www.telestar.fr. November 23, 2015.
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