This is one of my favorite Gerard Depardieau movies. All his charms are displayed -- plus a GREAT story!!! I really LOVED Jeanne Moreau in this film -- so beautiful in her mature age that it gave me a new view of how beautiful women can be even when old (which was a huge one for me).
I never knew the story of Balzac's life before and this was a delightful way to learn about him. It made me want to read about him now and read his books.
One warning: if you are sound-sensitive as I am, I find that listening to voice-over in English to RUIN the film ENTIRELY...! I do not understand French at all, but I love to listen to the French as I read the English subtitles. It was a huge disappointment to me when I purchased a DVD of this film on eBay only to discover that listening in French was not even an option!! I cannot bear to listen to Gerard's voice being voiced over and must only watch it now in silence with subtitles until I manage to find a copy with FRENCH soundtrack. That language is truly like music to my ears and is at least nearly half the "art" of this film in my opinion!!
Wonderful drama, romance, scandal, inspiration, laughter and tears in this wonderful, wonderful film. I have it a 10 as it is one of the FEW films I liked enough to actually purchase!!