''A Self-Made Hero'' (french: Un héros très discret) is a 1996 French film directed by

Jacques Audiard Jacques Audiard (; born 30 April 1952) is a French film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is the son of Michel Audiard, also a film director and screenwriter. He has won both the César Award for Best Film and the BAFTA Award for Best Fi ...

. It is based on the novel by

Jean-François Deniau Jean-François Deniau (31 October 1928 – 24 January 2007) was a French politician, diplomat, essayist and novelist. Until 1998, he was a member of the Union for French Democracy (UDF). Biography Minister and diplomat In 1958, he became th ...

Synopsis

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 Two passes the pair by, as Albert is not called up as he is the only child of a war widow, denying him of his chance to become a hero. Having married the daughter of a member of the resistance, he leaves his family and his marriage for

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

where heroes are truly celebrated.

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 : 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-u ...

: Dionnet *

Anouk Grinberg Anouk Grinberg (born 20 March 1963) is a French actress. She is the daughter of Michel Vinaver, born Michel Grinberg, a French writer and dramatist, and the great-granddaughter of the pre-1917 Russian politician Maxim Vinaver. She has appeared ...

: Servane * Sandrine Kiberlain : 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 * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, Kin ...

: Louvier * Philippe Duclos : Caron *

Danièle Lebrun Danièle Lebrun (born 24 July 1937) is a French actress. Theater Filmography References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lebrun, Daniele 1937 births Living people French film actresses French stage actresses People from Ardèche 2 ...

: Madame Dehousse * Clotilde Mollet : Odette *

François Berléand François Berléand (; born 22 April 1952) is a French actor. He plays Gilles Triquet, the officer manager and equivalent of David Brent in ''Le Bureau'', the French version of ''The Office'', produced by Canal+. He also appeared in the 2002 fil ...

: Monsieur Jo *

Philippe Nahon Philippe Nahon (; 24 December 1938 – 19 April 2020) was a French actor. Best known films Nahon was best known for his roles in French horror and thriller films, including '' I Stand Alone'', '' Humains'', '' Calvaire'', ''The Pack'' and ''Ha ...

: 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-war era. He starred in many classic fi ...

: Albert Dehousse (old) * Bruno Putzulu : Meyer *

François Levantal François Levantal (born 14 October 1960) is a French actor. He has appeared in more than one hundred films since 1986. Filmography Theater Music videos External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Levantal, Francois 1960 births Living people F ...

: Delavelle * Armand de Baudry d'Asson : Englishman * Wilfred Benaïche : Nervoix

Awards and nominations

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

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

Golden Palm The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

(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 Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporatio ...

(Alexandre Desplat) **Nominated: Best Writing (Jacques Audiard and Alain Le Henry) *

Stockholm Film Festival The Stockholm International Film Festival ( sv, Stockholms filmfestival, italic=no) is an annual film festival held in Stockholm, Sweden. It was launched in 1990 and has been held every year since then during the second half of November. The w ...

(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- karat gold final spike driven by Leland Stanford to join the rails of the first transcontinental railroad across the United States connecting the Central Pacific Railroad ...

(Jacques Audiard)

References

External links