Cannes 2026: A Man of His Time, Moulin, Coward

A historical comedy set in 1940s Vichy France follows Henri Marre as he tries to sell his manuscript during World War II. Henri is not portrayed as visionary or deeply thoughtful, and his conversations often rely on broad, obvious claims that do not earn attention. Letters to his wife and early champion Paulette create an epistolary structure that tracks Henri’s emotional and moral changes over time. His shift from loving and principled behavior toward vanity and submissiveness accelerates after he is hired as a regional scout for the Office of Unemployment. In that bureaucratic role, he becomes skilled at capitulating to power for career advancement.

"Inspired by letters written by his great-grandparents, Emmanuel Marre's " A Man of His Time " is a biting and sly historical comedy whose discomforting horrors are all too relevant. The punchline begins with the film's very title, a double-edged sword that puns on its reverential meaning with a kind of cop-out (whenever someone is problematic, it's often handwaved away by calling them "a man of their time"). It takes place during World War II, beginning in 1940, in Vichy, France, where Henri Marre (Swann Arlaud) attempts to sell his manuscript."

"Henri is mostly unsuccessful. He isn't a brilliant writer, a deep thinker, or a visionary. He moves with whatever faction or idea will get him noticed. In the film's opening scene, for instance, Henri drunkenly floats around a party populated by people he doesn't appear to know. Though he tries to strike up conversations, he offers such broad and obvious arguments-that Germany is dangerous and a threat to France-that few take note of his presence."

"It doesn't take long to realize that Henri's words very rarely reflect the content of his soul, particularly when we're introduced to the letters he sends to his wife and early champion Paulette (Sandrine Blancke). Those missives, which are narrated by Henri and Paulette, grant the film an epistolary quality that acutely tracks when Henri turns from being loving and principled to vain and submissive, a change that occurs when Henri is hired as a regional scout for the Office of Unemployment."

"In this role, Henri quickly becomes a bureaucratic pencil pusher adept at capitulating to power if it means career advancement,"

Read at Roger Ebert