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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.
398:, 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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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After the fall of Germany, Albert is appointed to a general's staff in French-occupied Germany, working in psychological operations in
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In Paris, he is taken under the wing of Captain Dionnet, a homosexual
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is a film which investigates the divide between fantasy and reality.
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627:: Best Screenplay (Jacques Audiard and Alain Le Henry)
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Les vies les plus belles sont celles qu'on s'invente
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691:"Un heros tres discret (1996) - JPBox-Office"
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996:Films with screenplays by Jacques Audiard
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705:"Festival de Cannes: A Self-Made Hero"
30:For the graphic novel publisher, see
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611:(Jacques Audiard and Alain Le Henry)
581:Best Actress – Supporting Role
552:(Jacques Audiard and Alain Le Henry)
334:) is a 1996 French film directed by
65:adding citations to reliable sources
574:Best Actor – Supporting Role
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991:Films directed by Jacques Audiard
649:: Silver Spike (Jacques Audiard)
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670:Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
52:needs additional citations for
822:The Beat That My Heart Skipped
338:. It is based on the novel by
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27:1996 film by Jacques Audiard
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981:French comedy-drama films
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748:at Alice Cinéma (French)
640:Valladolid Film Festival
518:Armand de Baudry d'Asson
618:Stockholm Film Festival
478: : Madame Dehousse
430: : Albert Dehousse
200:by Jean-François Deniau
953:Venus Beauty Institute
532:Awards and nominations
500:Jean-Louis Trintignant
454: : General's wife
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415:Un héros très discret
332:Un héros très discret
263:15 May 1996
198:Un héros très discret
161:Un héros très discret
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854:The Sisters Brothers
583:(Sandrine Kiberlain)
539:Cannes Film Festival
396:Charlemagne Division
340:Jean-François Deniau
188:Jean-François Deniau
61:improve this article
709:festival-cannes.com
604:(Alexandre Desplat)
597:(Juliette Welfling)
496: : The General
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881:Films written only
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446:Sandrine Kiberlain
363:persecuted by the
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798:See How They Fall
656:(Jacques Audiard)
590:(Jacques Audiard)
576:(Albert Dupontel)
559:(Jacques Audiard)
514: : Delavelle
512:François Levantal
488:François Berléand
428:Mathieu Kassovitz
365:French Resistance
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249:Alexandre Desplat
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315:$ 4.4 million
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712:. Retrieved
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59:Please help
54:verification
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32:SelfMadeHero
652:Nominated:
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586:Nominated:
579:Nominated:
572:Nominated:
557:Golden Palm
555:Nominated:
388:Baden-Baden
376:Free French
283:107 minutes
205:Produced by
166:Directed by
976:1996 films
970:Categories
945:Dead Tired
677:References
602:Best Music
312:Box office
267:1996-05-15
176:Written by
87:newspapers
921:Australia
830:A Prophet
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542:(France)
237:Edited by
663:See also
643:(Spain)
346:Synopsis
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215:Starring
195:Based on
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288:Country
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