Mon Pere ... il M'a Sauve la Vie (2001)

See All Available Formats

Synopsis of Mon Pere ... il M'a Sauve la Vie

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. To keep himself sane while waiting on Death Row, Manu begins writing a novel, but unknown to him, the father he will not speak with has been researching his son's case, and spends the better part of the next four years searching for a way to prove his son's innocence and earn him a clemency that would set him free. In real life, Jose Giovanni was unaware of his father's role in his release from prison until after his death; years later, Giovanni wrote an acclaimed biography of his father's own remarkable life, which included a very successful career as a professional gambler and a spell as official translator to renowned U.S. general "Black Jack" Pershing during World War I. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Complete Cast of Mon Pere ... il M'a Sauve la Vie

Director(s):

José Giovanni

Writer(s):

Bertrand Tavernier

Producer(s):

Alain Sarde

Looking for special editions of Mon Pere ... il M'a Sauve la Vie?

See All Versions

Subtitles:

Check All Versions

Closed Captioning:

Check All Versions