Le chant du monde (1965)

Two clans of farmers clash in the hills of Haute-Provence. A tough farmer, Le Matelot, is worried because his son, Le Besson, has not returned from the highlands, where he went to cut trees. With his friend Antonio Bouche d'or, who lives alone on an island, he sets off to look for his son. Along the way, they meet Clara (Catherine Deneuve) in a wood, a young blind woman about to give birth. They help her and shelter her at Mother Delarue’s; Antonio falls in love with her. They discover that Le Besson has abducted Gina, with her consent. She is the daughter of the formidable Maudru, the wealthy owner of the grazing lands, and had been promised to Maudru’s nephew. Then they realize that Maudru and his herdsmen are conducting a merciless manhunt for Le Besson. A war begins, and will not end until several people have died… Le Besson avoids an initial trap but mortally wounds Maudru’s nephew. Antonio and Le Matelot join the hunted couple at Toussaint’s, the hunchback healer and Le Matelot’s brother-in-law. Winter has come. Gina “the old woman,” Maudru’s sister and the dead man’s mother, joins those who want to kill Le Besson. At the end of a village festival, where Clara is reunited with Antonio, Le Matelot is beaten to death by the herdsmen. Enraged, Le Besson, accompanied by Antonio, sets fire to Maudru’s farm. Once revenge and violence have run their course, fine weather will return. Le Besson, Antonio, and their companions then head for the Low Country and go to live together on Antonio’s island. This happy ending deliberately contrasts, as far as Giono is concerned, with the story’s overall harshness.