The Return of Martin Guerre

The story is bound to be familiar since Hollywood's remake Sommersby attempted to re-interpret an interesting theme with dissapointingly mediocre results. Vigne's undoubtedly superior original, has Martin Guerre (Depardieu) as a man returning to his village who as a youngster abandoned his wife (Bayc). He is soon though accused of being an impostor... The medieval tale of mysterious twists and turns about the man's identity has two major strengths: firstly, Depardieu's tranquil performance which makes an interesting counterpart to his great physical presence, and secondly, the accurate depiction of the chaotic world of the Middle Ages governed by cruelty and superstition, ignorance and mistrust. The end result is quilt successful, and despite some flaws in the building of the story, it provides suspense and beautifully sustained perfommccs from beginning to end.

Review by Spiros Gangas
Taken from EUFS Programme 1993-94