This is the story of Charles de Gaulle's qualitative leap from obedient colonel to rebellious general and leader of France Libre during the spring/summer of 1940. There is a lot of behind-the-scenes chatter shedding light on what motivated Marshal Pétain to surrender France to the Germans and de Gaulle to mutiny and carry on the fight from England, which is probably interesting for Frenchmen and historians, but hardly for the ordinary viewer, who may be more fascinated by the scenes from de Gaulle's family life with his wife and three children, the youngest of whom suffered from Down's Syndrome. The cinematography is top-notch, and Lambert Wilson has the height, stature and talent to play de Gaulle (supplemented by an artificial nose).