Jean de Florette (1987)

This the first part of an epic and incredibly artful story is about an aging uncle and his nephew, Cesar and Ugolin Soubeyran, scheming to buy the neighboring farm owned by a hunchback from the city named Jean.  It all concerns a spring that is the farm's main water source.  The plan is simple: Cesar and Ugolin plug up the spring before the hunchback arrives only to wait for the hunchback to get frustrated and sell.  There's one problem: the hunchback, performed by Gérard Depardieu, is the kind of man never to give up.  What's great about this film is that in many ways the villains are the protagonists and the determined hero is the antagonist.  This switch is great because it builds dramatic tension that otherwise wouldn't have been as intriguing if structured the more traditional way.  I highly recommend this film (at least at this point) and expect the final half to be just as gut-wrenching and satisfying. Grade: A