''Le Colonel Chabert'' (English title: ''Colonel Chabert'') is a 1994 French

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents history, historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction s ...

film directed by

Yves Angelo Yves Angelo (born 22 January 1956) is a French cinematographer, film director and screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as ...

and starring

Gérard Depardieu Gérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu (, , ; born 27 December 1948) is a French actor. An icon of French cinema, considered a world star in the same way as Alain Delon or Brigitte Bardot, he has completed over 250 films since 1967, most of which as ...

Fanny Ardant Fanny Marguerite Judith Ardant (born 22 March 1949) is a French actress and film director. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two César Awards and a Lumière Award. Early life Ardant was born on 22 March 1949, in Saumur, ...

and

Fabrice Luchini Fabrice Luchini (; born Robert Luchini; 1 November 1951) is a French stage and film actor. He has appeared in films such as '' Potiche'', '' The Women on the 6th Floor'', and '' In the House''. Life and career Fabrice Luchini was born in Paris, ...

. It is based on the novel '' Le Colonel Chabert'' by

Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly ; ; born Honoré Balzac; 20 May 1799 – 18 August 1850) was a French novelist and playwright. The novel sequence ''La Comédie humaine'', which presents a panorama of post-Napoleonic French life, is ...

. Another film adaptation of the novel starring

Raimu Jules Auguste Muraire (18 December 1883 – 20 September 1946), whose stage name was Raimu, was a French actor. He is most famous for playing César in the 'Marseilles trilogy' ('' Marius'', '' Fanny'' and '' César''). Life and career Born in T ...

had been released 50 years earlier, during the German occupation of France.

Synopsis

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 February 1817, three years after the fall of the Empire, the lawyer Derville receives a visit from a shabbily dressed man. He claims to be Colonel Chabert, believed dead at the

Battle of Eylau The Battle of Eylau (also known as the Battle of Preussisch-Eylau) was a bloody and strategically inconclusive battle on 7 and 8 February 1807 between Napoleon's and the Imperial Russian Army under the command of General Levin August von Be ...

in 1807. He had contributed to the victory by leading a famous cavalry charge against the Russians. The man tells how, waking in a mass grave surrounded by corpses, he survived his wounds. He has returned ten years later and wishes to claim his title, to assert his rights and to live again with his wife, who has greatly increased the fortune she inherited from him. She, during his absence, has married Count Ferraud and had children. She refuses to recognise her first husband. Derville agrees to help the colonel by proposing a settlement in which she will make a large settlement on Chabert if he agrees to divorce her and give up his claims. She refuses the proposed terms and tries to manipulate her ex-husband, asking him to declare his claim is fraudulent. Chabert, disgusted by her deceitfulness and the idea of him renouncing his name, abandons his claim. Colonel Chabert finishes his life penniless and in an asylum, reminiscing on his last battle.

Cast

: Amédé Chabert *

: Maître Derville *

: Countess Ferraud * André Dussollier : Count Ferraud *

Daniel Prévost Daniel Prévost (; born 20 October 1939) is a French actor, comedian and writer. Early life Daniel Prévost, alias Denis Forestier, was born to Micheline Chevalier and Mohand Ait Salem. His father was of Berber descent from Algeria (Kabylie ...

: Boucard *

Olivier Saladin Olivier Saladin is a French actor. Career He is best known for playing in the cult TV series '' Les Deschiens'' (1993–2002), in which he plays alongside Yolande Moreau Yolande Moreau (born 27 February 1953) is a Belgian comedian, actress, ...

: Huré * Maxime Leroux : Godeschal *

Éric Elmosnino Éric Elmosnino (born 2 May 1964) is a French actor and musician. He is known internationally for portraying Serge Gainsbourg in '' Gainsbourg'', for which he won the César Award for Best Actor. He studied at the National Conservatory of Dramat ...

: Maître Desroches * Guillaume Romain : Simonin *

Patrick Bordier ''RRRrrrr!!!'' is a 2004 French comedy film, co-written, produced and directed by Alain Chabat. It stars :fr:Maurice Barthélémy, Maurice Barthélémy, Pierre-François Martin-Laval, Jean-Paul Rouve, Marina Foïs, Elise Larnicol, Alain Chabat, ...

: Boutin *

Claude Rich Claude Rich (8 February 1929 – 20 July 2017) was a French stage and screen actor. He began his career in the theater before his film debut in 1955. Personal life He married actress Catherine Renaudin on 26 June 1959. They had two daughters ...

: Chamblin * Jean Cosmos : Costaz *

Jacky Nercessian Jacky Nercessian (or ''Nersessian'' (), born November 16, 1950) is a French actor who is ethnically Armenian. One of his most known roles is Apkar in '' Mayrig'' by Henri Verneuil. Biography Nercessian was born in 1950 in Saint-Etienne. He g ...

: Delbecq *

Albert Delpy Albert Delpy (born 13 September 1940) is a French actor and writer, born in Vietnam. He has appeared in more than one hundred films since 1970. Personal life He was married to French actress Marie Pillet until her death in 2009. They are the pare ...

: Maître Roguin *

Romane Bohringer Romane Bohringer (; born 14 August 1973) is a French actress, film director, screenwriter, and costume designer. She is the daughter of Richard Bohringer and sister of Lou Bohringer. Her parents named her after Roman Polanski. She won the C� ...

: Sophie * Valérie Bettencourt : Julie *

Julie Depardieu Julie Marion Depardieu (born 18 June 1973) is a French actress who has appeared in a number of successful films. Early life Born 18 June 1973 in Boulogne-Billancourt, she is the daughter of Gérard and Élisabeth Depardieu and the sister of the ...

: A maid

Production

* Direction :

, assisted by Frédéric Blum * Script : Yves Angelo, Jean Cosmos and

Véronique Lagrange Véronique can refer to: * Véronique (given name), a French female name * Véronique River, a river in the Côte-Nord region of the province of Quebec, Canada. * Véronique (rocket), a French sounding rocket * ''Véronique'' (operetta), compose ...

, from the novel by

* Production : Jean-Louis Livi and Bernard Marescot * Music :

Régis Pasquier Régis Pasquier (born 12 October 1945) is a French violinist from a family of musicians. His father Pierre Pasquier (1902–1986), a violist and his uncles Jean (1903), a violinist, and Étienne (1905–1997), a cellist, had founded a string trio, ...

* Photography : Bernard Lutic * Editing : Thierry Derocles * Scenery : Bernard Vézat (certain interior scenes filmed at Château de Bizy in

Vernon, Eure Vernon (; ) is a commune in the French department of Eure, administrative region of Normandy, northern France. It lies on the banks of the river Seine, about midway between Paris and Rouen. Vernon–Giverny station has rail connections to Ro ...

) * Costumes :

Franca Squarciapino Franca Squarciapino (born 1940) is an Italians, Italian costume designer recognized for her exceptional work in theatre and film. She won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design in 63rd Academy Awards, 1990 for her work on ''Cyrano de Bergerac (1 ...

Filming locations

Château de Champs-sur-Marne The Château de Champs-sur-Marne () is a neoclassical architecture, neoclassical château in Champs-sur-Marne, France. It was built in its present form for the treasurer Charles Renouard de la Touane in 1699 by Pierre Bullet, ''architecte du roi' ...

(

Seine-et-Marne Seine-et-Marne () is a department in the Île-de-France region in Northern France. Named after the rivers Seine and Marne, it is the region's largest department with an area of 5,915 square kilometres (2,284 square miles); it roughly covers its ...

) * Château de Bizy (

) * Château de Bouges (

Indre Indre (); is a department in central France named after the river Indre. The inhabitants of the department are known as the ''Indriens'' (masculine; ) and ''Indriennes'' (feminine; ). Indre is part of the current administrative region of Cent ...

)

Awards and nominations

* Cairo Film Festival (Egypt) **Won: Golden Pyramid (Yves Angelo) *

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 – Leading Role (Gérard Depardieu) **Nominated: Best Actor – Supporting Role (Fabrice Luchini) **Nominated: Best Cinematography (Bernard Lutic) **Nominated: Best Costume Design (Franca Squarciapino) **Nominated: Best First Work (Yves Angelo) **Nominated: Best Production Design (Bernard Vézat)

References

External links

* French war films French historical films 1990s war films 1990s historical films Napoleonic Wars films Films set in 1817 Films based on works by Honoré de Balzac Films based on French novels Films directed by Yves Angelo 1990s French-language films 1990s French films Works based on Colonel Chabert Films shot in Seine-et-Marne Films shot in Eure Films shot in Indre French-language war drama films {{1990s-France-film-stub