Gérard Depardieu stars in this popular art film of medieval melodrama about mistaken identity. What creates identity? What constitutes a soul? To what extent do we convince ourselves a stranger is someone we really want that person to be? By and large, director Vigne has done well with such big issues.

Based on French folklore, the story is set in rural, 16th-century France. After years at war, Martin Guerre (Depardieu) returns home, to his wife, Bertrande De Rois (Baye) and their family. He has several memory lapses, and doesn't recognize familiar faces; before long, other villagers question his true identity. Is he who he claims to be?

Vigne boldly embraces the question. In a courtroom, Guerre attempts to convince the villagers of his identity, as his enigmatic wife Bertrande one minute passionately defends him, but in the next, remains strangely silent.

The film is unforgettably vivid as a portrait of rough, bloody, dirty rural life in the 16th-century.