A self-made hero

France 1996 (subtitles)
Directed by Jacques Audiard
Leading players - Mathieu Kassovitz, Anouk Grinberg and Albert Dupontel

Synopsis

This film is set in France at the end of World War II, at a time when the country finds itself divided between "resistants" and "collaborateurs". Against a background of deep mistrust and ambivalence, our hero-to-be is introduced to us. His name is Albert Dehousse (Mathieu Kassovitz, Director and Producer of "La Haine"). He is an anonymous young man who discovers that his mother has hidden from him the truth about her past as a collaborator for the Germans during the occupation, and that she has deceived him into believing that his father was a hero a the resistance, rather than the drunk that he actually was.

In order to avoid the humiliation he faces, Albert descends into fantasy. He creates an identity for himself assuming piece by piece the characteristics that are commonly associated with those of a hero. Before joining the ranks of "real" members of the Resistance movement, Albert rehearses his part in anticipation of his performance of the "perfect" hero on the scene of life. The process whereby life becomes an extension of our imagination is fully examined by Albert as he turns his existence into a tale of historical "bravoury".

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Fiction and reality intermingle in the film. Never is imagination more fertile than when the mind is met with an obstructive reality, one that tries to cripple and one that forces Albert into masquerade.

The film presents us with a satirical revision of French post-war history, and more importantly reminds us of our weaknesses as they are reflected by the character Alberts invents for himself.