''A Self-Made Hero'' () is a 1996 French film directed by

Jacques Audiard Jacques Audiard (; born 30 April 1952) is a French film director, producer, and screenwriter. One of the most awarded French filmmakers in history, his international accolades include an Academy Award, two British Academy Film Awards, and three ...

. It is based on the novel by Jean-François Deniau.

Synopsis

The film is presented in the style of a historical documentary, with an elderly Dehousse narrating the events of his life, interspersed with interviews with other characters and historians. Albert Dehousse has grown up on heroic novels, unfortunately his life isn't quite so exciting. Albert lives in a village in northern France with his mother, who lives in memory of her husband, who she claims died a hero in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. As a child, Albert learns that his father in fact died of cirrhosis of the liver. When the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

begins, Albert is not called up as he is the only child of a war widow, denying him his chance to become a hero. He marries Yvette Caron, a local girl, and works for her father as a sales agent. Following the liberation of France, Madame Dehousse is revealed to have been a collaborator and is persecuted by the

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

. Albert learns that his father-in-law is the head of a local Resistance network. Devastated by the revelation, he leaves his family for

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. In Paris, he is taken under the wing of Captain Dionnet, a homosexual

Free French Free France () was a resistance government claiming to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third French Republic, Third Republic during World War II. Led by General , Free France was established as a gover ...

fighter, who finds Albert a place to stay in a local brothel. The Captain advises Albert that in the chaos of postwar France it is possible for a man to become anything, even a Resistance fighter. Albert begins a relationship with Odette, one of the girls at the brothel, while working for Monsieur Jo, a rich collaborationist, and memorising Jo's list of contacts. Eventually, Jo is arrested, and at the same time the Captain enlists to fight in Germany, having fallen in love with an American soldier. He leaves Albert a note reiterating his advice. Albert takes a room near the Army School with the Louvier family. He learns all he can about the Resistance and leads the Louviers to believe that he was a Lieutenant in the Free French army. Through careful observation, study and bluffing, together with his memories of the Captain's stories, he manages to gain access to Resistance circles and eventually befriends many veterans. Interviews with veterans later in life show that many of them seem to recall having met him in London during the war. When he encounters an officer who recalls the name Dehousse (having dealt with Albert's mother's application for a pension) Albert claims that "Dehousse" is a pseudonym and he is actually a Polish Jew called Rozinsky, taking the name of former tenants of the Louviers who were captured and deported during the war. Eventually, on the strength of his network and popularity, and his extensive memory of names of collaborators from his time with M. Jo, Albert is given a junior government position advising on suitability of appointments. At a social event, he meets Servane, the mistress of an officer, who indicates her desire for him, but he is called away before their relationship can progress. After the fall of Germany, Albert is appointed to a general's staff in French-occupied Germany, working in psychological operations in

Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...

with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. On his way through Germany, he briefly crosses paths with the Captain, who is delighted to see what has become of Albert. Although initially coldly-received by his junior officers, Albert wins them over with his gracious manner. One officer, Boutin, becomes suspicious of him after Albert claims to be suffering from an old bullet wound to excuse a poor performance at tennis, but is unable to persuade any of his colleagues. Boutin tells the viewer that he was later killed fighting in French Indochina. Servane is posted to Baden-Baden and she and Albert begin a relationship. Eventually, after she questions him, Albert admits that his backstory is a forgery. The next morning, Albert's unit is called to investigate a raid on a village by what are believed to be SS resistance members. The group turn out to be French members of the Charlemagne Division, who cannot return to France for fear of punishment and are stealing to survive. Rather than send them back to France to be tried and shot, Albert orders them to be executed by firing squad on the spot. Traumatised, he writes a letter to the French command confessing the truth about his background. To avoid the risk of a major scandal, he is dealt with quietly. The only charges he faces are for bigamy, having married Servane in 1946, for which he serves three years in prison. Yvette tracks him down and she and Servane become friends. The film closes with a series of anecdotes about other accomplishments or scams by "Dehousse", while the elderly Dehousse asks the viewer if he was convincing.

About the film

"''Les vies les plus belles sont celles qu'on s'invente''", (the most beautiful lives are those we invent) announces an older Albert Dehousse at the beginning of the film. ''Un héros très discret'' is a film which investigates the divide between fantasy and reality.

Cast

Mathieu Kassovitz Mathieu Kassovitz () is a French actor, film director, film producer and screenwriter. He has won three César Awards: Most Promising Actor for '' See How They Fall'' (1994), and Best Film and Best Editing for '' La Haine'' (1995). He also re ...

: Albert Dehousse *

Albert Dupontel Albert Dupontel (; born 11 January 1964) is a French actor, film director and screenwriter. Following his father's path, he studied medicine but eventually switched to theater, disillusioned by hospital life. He started his career as a stand-up ...

: Dionnet * Anouk Grinberg : Servane *

Sandrine Kiberlain Sandrine Kiberlain (born Sandrine Kiberlajn; 25 February 1968) is a French people, French actress and singer. Her most notable roles were in the films ''The Patriots (film), The Patriots'' (1994), ''A Self Made Hero'' (1996), ''For Sale (1998 fi ...

: Yvette * Nadia Barentin : General's wife * Bernard Bloch : Ernst *

François Chattot François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * François Amoudruz (1926–2020), French resistance fighter * François-Marie Arouet (better known as Voltaire; ...

: Louvier * Philippe Duclos : Caron * Danièle Lebrun : Madame Dehousse * Clotilde Mollet : Odette * François Berléand : Monsieur Jo * Philippe Nahon : The General *

Jean-Louis Trintignant Jean-Louis Xavier Trintignant (; 11 December 1930 – 17 June 2022) was a French actor. He made his theatrical debut in 1951, and went on to be regarded as one of the best French dramatic actors of the post-World War II, war era. He starred in m ...

: Albert Dehousse (old) * Bruno Putzulu : Meyer * François Levantal : Delavelle * Armand de Baudry d'Asson : Englishman * Wilfred Benaïche : Nervoix

Awards and nominations

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

(France) **Won: Best Screenplay (Jacques Audiard and Alain Le Henry) **Nominated: Golden Palm (Jacques Audiard) *

César Awards The César Award is the national film award of France. It is delivered in the ' ceremony and was first awarded in 1976. The nominations are selected by the members of twelve categories of filmmaking professionals and supported by the French Min ...

(France) **Nominated: Best Actor – Supporting Role (Albert Dupontel) **Nominated: Best Actress – Supporting Role (Sandrine Kiberlain) **Nominated: Best Director (Jacques Audiard) **Nominated: Best Editing (Juliette Welfling) **Nominated: Best Music (Alexandre Desplat) **Nominated: Best Original Screenplay or Adaptation (Jacques Audiard and Alain Le Henry) * Stockholm Film Festival (Sweden) **Won: Best Screenplay (Jacques Audiard and Alain Le Henry) **Nominated: Bronze Horse * Valladolid Film Festival (Spain) **Won: Silver Spike (Jacques Audiard) **Nominated:

Golden Spike The golden spike (also known as the last spike) is the ceremonial 17.6-Carat (purity), karat gold final Rail spike, spike driven by Leland Stanford to join the rails of the first transcontinental railroad across the United States connecting t ...

(Jacques Audiard)

References

External links