Rent Jean de Florette (1986)

A Year in Provence (spoiler) - Jean de Florette review by Steve

There is such irony that the vogue for UK metropolitans to move to rural France was inspired by this parable on the abuse of immigrants. And maybe it's supremely shallow if their takeaway from this epic tale of avarice is how lovely it all looks. Well, the widescreen cinematography is exceptional, as well as the interwar period decor and costumes.

Gérard Depardieu plays a hunchback/outsider whose persecution is justified by his physical difference. Yves Montand and Daniel Auteuil scheme like a pair of Shakespearean rogues to destroy the goodhearted hero via the tragic flaw of his naivety. Before his family arrives to farm their inherited land, the nativists seal up the spring, then observe them go bankrupt in a drought.

The three stars are perfect casting, with Montand the standout as a pretty coldhearted villain. His accomplice is conflicted, which is arguably even worse; but their greed and resentment are an addiction. Claude Berri adapts and directs this revision of Marcel Pagnol's 1952 original version, with both detail and spectacle. The production is simply magnificent.

It had a huge cultural impact overseas... and was massive box office everywhere. The opening strains as the harmonica plays Verdi over the drone of the cicadas, folds the passing years in an instant. It ends on a huge downer, partly because it's only the first half of the story. Anyone who sees this will want to watch the conclusion unfold in Manon des Sources (also 1986).