Le Colonel Chabert / Colonel Chabert

The movie Le Colonel Chabert, directed by Yves Angelo, is based on the 1832 novella by French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850). It is included in his series of novels known as La Comédie humaine (The Human Comedy), which depicts and parodies French society in the period of the Restoration (1815–30) and the July Monarchy (1830–48). The main character in the novel and the film is French Colonel Chabert, who serves in the Napoleonic army and has been severely wounded in the Russian War (1812) to the point that the medical examiner has signed his death certificate. When he regains his health and memory, he goes back to Paris, where his “widow,” Anne has married the Count Ferraud and is financing his rise to power using Chabert's money. Chabert hires a lawyer to help him get back his money and his honor.