Return of the Hero

A period comedy set in France in 1809. Captain Neuville becomes engaged to Pauline and is called to the front immediately after. On the day he leaves he promises to write. No letter comes. Pauline waits for weeks and gets much worse. To comfort her sister, Élisabeth writes a letter and signs Neuville's name to it. Then she writes another. In the letters the captain performs feats, collects medals and finally rises high in a distant country. Years later Neuville returns. He has deserted, he is in a wretched state and nobody recognises him. When he reaches the town he meets the legend written about him. He takes it over at once. Élisabeth is the only person who knows the truth and cannot expose him, because she wrote the letters herself. The comedy comes from the struggle between the two: one keeps enlarging the lie, the other tries to silence him, and both are afraid of being caught. Jean Dujardin plays Neuville and Mélanie Laurent plays Élisabeth. Laurent Tirard directed. A pleasant choice for anyone who likes French period comedy and sparring between characters. For a viewer expecting depth, the film is built on a single joke and stays there.