Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

I am not, by any stretch, a Depardieu fan. I am also not a huge fan of subtitled movies. In fact, I really hate subtitles. I spend so much time reading that I don’t see what the actors are doing.

However, about a year and a half ago I read a review here of the book and it intrigued me so much that I vowed to read the book myself.

Which didn’t happen.

So when I stumbled across the DVD at Deep Discount DVD I ordered it without a moment’s thought (not even enough thought to notice that it was subtitled.)

But how could I not be interested? A man (Martin Guerre) goes off to war from his medieval French village, effectively abandoning his family for 8 years. When he returns he’s a changed man. He’s nice, he treats his wife well, he’s big and brawny. He's a great guy. So different that he could be a completely different person.

Hmmm.

Old Martin was an illiterate little jerk. He was mean to his wife and a cry baby whiner. New Martin can read and write. He likes his wife and the son she managed to bear him despite the fact that he resisted having sex with her as much as possible. He works hard and doesn’t complain. Who cares if it’s not really Martin? We like this Martin much better than the Martin who left, the villagers cry in unison.

At least until Martin asks for his share of the profits from the time that he was gone and his uncle refuses to give them to him. Then it gets ugly.

Did I mention that the penalty for identity theft in feudal France was death?

The performances were fantastic. My heart broke for Nathalie Baye’s character, suffering as Martin’s wife before Martin left and suffering over whether or not she was committing a sin if the new Martin wasn’t the same Martin she married. And Depardieu as Martin was very magnetic. He's not the type I normally find attractive, and yet he has an attractive personality. Very charismatic.

The settings were also very beautiful and very accurate. Martin and his wife shared a bedroom with his uncle and her mother (who were also married. It was a very small town.) The court scenes were very instructional about how the medieval court system worked. The costumes weren’t the beautiful extravaganzas we are used to seeing in historical films because they were correct for the time.

If it weren’t for the subtitles that had me kicking myself for not paying better attention in high school French class, this would now be one of my all time favorite historicals. As it stands Stealing Heaven has nothing to worry about as The Return of Martin Guerre slides neatly into third below it and Rob Roy (also in English. What can I say, I’m a monolinguistic snob.) Give this baby a try, but keep the remote handy so you can rewind if you miss some of the action while reading the subtitles.


***Trivia: The movie is based on a true story taken from the court writings.


Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older