For a while I have been thinking about films that has similar character types to The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Like movies that feature Hunchbacks, Gypsies, Obsessed creepy guys, etc.
One famous movie to feature a Hunchback in it is called Jean De Florette
Gérard Depardieu and Yves Montand inJean De Florette
It stars Gérard Depardieu as Jean de Florette who is a hunchback. Unlike Quasimodo he is not ugly, Daniel Auteuil’s character, Ugolin covers that as well as creepy romantic obsession in the second part Manon of the Spring (more on this in another post). The two films make up one story.
Gérard Depardieu as Jean with his wife Aimee (Elisabeth Depardieu) and Daughter Manon (Ernestine Mazurowna), Jean de Florette
So what is the movie about? Basically, a greedy landowner, Cesar Soubeyran (Yves Montand) and his nephew Ugolin want the property next to them. When the owner is killed in a fight his nephew Jean Cadoret, a tax collector and a hunchback, inherits the property. He moves in with his wife Aimee and young daughter Manon and tries to live off the land. But Cesar and Ugolin’s designs on getting Jean’s property push them to ruin Jean.
Gérard Depardieu as Jean De Florette
The sequel Manon of the Spring picks off where Jean de Florette left off and it gives a reason for why Jean was a Hunchback that could be applied to Quasimodo. I won’t say what it is but it’s fun to think about what caused Quasimodo’s deformity.