Overview

Novelist and filmmaker Jose Giovanni turned to the remarkable true story of how his father helped him escape a date with the guillotine for this drama, which is based closely on events from his own life. During World War II, Manu (Vincent Lecoeur, as a character Giovanni modeled after himself) fought with the French Resistance, but near the end of the war he fell into a life of crime, and in 1947, 22-year-old Manu was arrested for his part in a bungled robbery that left a man dead. While Manu did not pull the fatal trigger, he refuses to say who did, since it would mean implicating his uncle, one of the few members of his family who has stood by him; Manu's brother is dead, and he turned his back on his father Joe (Bruno Cremer) years ago. Manu is sentenced to death, and while he protests his innocence, his attempts to escape from prison do little to convince anyone that he's telling the truth.

Top Cast

Bruno Cremer

Joe

Vincent Lecœur

Manu

Rufus

Grinval

Michelle Goddet

Emilie

Nicolas Abraham

Maître Hecquet

M

Maria Pitarresi

Doriane Teneraux

Eric Defosse

Manouche

Cédric Chevalme

Barthy

Gabriel Briand

Owner of the bistro

Charlotte Kady

The prostitute

François Perrot

Santos

Philippe Duclos

Cobra Overseer