I saw this film during my foreign film phase. American films had started to become too bland and predictable so I decided to give the foreign ones a shot. Subtitles didn't bother me because I already had a history of viewing flicks like those. When I was a kid, my Chinese grandfather used take us to the Saturday matinees at Ascot Cinema on Eastern Main Road in Sangre Grande where Chinese subtitled imports were playing, so I got used to them."Jean de Florette" stunned me, took me by surprise. At first I thought it, and its sequel, "Manon of the Spring," were going to be the most dreaded of all genres - love stories. They weren't. Everything about this movie was perfect - cinematography, acting, direction, everything. I can't recommended this movie and its sequel enough.

This film shows human beings at their absolute worst, greed driven selves. In this film, a man who is respected in his community, destroys the life of another, better man. He and his son want to be able to access a spring which can be used to water their agricultural products, primarily carnations. When they go to negotiate a deal with the land owner, he abuses them verbally and the end up killing him. Since they don't own the property they locate the spring and block it, hoping to get the new owners to be more cooperative. They never bat an eye over the murder. Soon a hunchbacked relative comes to claim the property. He is played by Gerard Depardieu. He is the epitome of optimism. He has a lovely family. He wants to farm the land and have a modest existence. The problem is the water needed to make the farm work is being held hostage by these two jerks. The literally destroy his life by sidling up to him and trying to get him to sell. The dynamics of the relationship are so well done. The acting is superb. The story is so tragic.

This great, great movie - along with its necessary follow-up, Manon Of The Spring - features one of the best stories, best casts, best cinematography, best direction, best scripts of all time. And Gerard Depardieu was never better. Great to see an aging Yves Montand at his very best, too, as the evil, scheming Cesar. Stick with it - through its many twists and turns. On the surface, it is a gentle movie, at a gentle pace, but it bubbles with an underlying tension that never quits - through to the end of Part 2 (Manon Of The Spring). When I first saw this film, I couldn't wait for Manon Of The Spring to come out, to find out how the story finally ended. It's that good. You will be enraptured, get involved with the characters, and care about them intensely to the very end. This film - and its Part 2 - are so far above the quality of the average American film these days it's not funny. This is the kind of film Hollywood should be putting out. It speaks volumes about the human tendency toward pettiness, cruelty and jealousy - and the terrible consequences of this kind of behavior. A tragedy almost on a Shakespearean level (certainly Shakespeare would have been proud to have written it) - this is one of the greatest movies ever made. The ending - which comes with the next movie - will absolutely devastate and haunt you. About the subtitles (this movie is in French) - you have got to put up with that because otherwise you will miss out on an exceptional experience you will never forget.

Gerard Depardieu is Jean de Florette, a simple, hard working landowner and farmer who grows and sells flowers and also raises rabbits for food. Some of Jean's neighbors would like to buy his land but Jean refuses to sell to them.They then find the main spring nearby and plug it with cement to prevent water from reaching the farm. Jean has to travel a good distance to carry large containers to his farm. He later gets badly injured and they take advantage of the situation quickly.This is a simple and slow moving drama which looks like a painting come to life. It is followed by the equally masterful "Manon of the Spring."