I did see A Self-Made Hero (Un Héros Très Discret), a French movie about a young milksop (that was the word in the capsule description, and Emily got such a kick out of it I figured I'd use it as much as possible in the review) in post-WWII France who dreams of becoming a hero. When his village is liberated and he finds out his father-in-law was a Resistance leader, he feels humiliated and sneaks off to Paris, where he meets a self-assured captain from the Resistance who takes him under his wing. Shortly, Albert (our hero) assumes the identity of a heroic freedom fighter and finds all kinds of plums thrown his way, all the way up to an important command post. In the end, love undoes him, as it has everyone from Samson to Dick Morris.
It's a very well-done film, funny and thought-provoking. My major complaint is that Albert goes instantly from weaselly, timid, dull milksop who can barely look his wife in the eye to weaselly, confident, take-charge Resistance fighter with people skills Dale Carnegie would envy, with no transition. Maybe it's his true personality coming out as his lie grows, or maybe, like an actor, he's simply assuming a persona to match his (imaginary) credentials. It's a little jarring, though.
Anyway, go see it.
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