Cast
Honoré de Balzac: Gérard Depardieu
Charlotte-Laure: Jeanne Moreau
Eve Hanska: Fanny Ardant
Madame de Birny: Virna Lisi
Laure d'Abrantès: Katja Riemann
Victor Hugo: Gert Voss
Anna Hanska: Katja Studt
Adèle Hugo: Marianne Denicourt
Eugene Sue: Sergio Rubini
Count Hanska: Gottfried John
Dr Nacquart: François Marthouret
Plissoud: Claude Rich
Paradis: Pascal Vannson
Charles Sedillot: Hervé Briaux
Didier Lesour: Surveillant Bossu

That French national treasure, Gérard Depardieu, returns to our screens in this sumptuous UK TV premiere based on the life of Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850).

This lavish costume drama recounts the life of the author of La comédie humaine through his relationships with women, beginning with his demanding mother, who disapproves of her son's career and lifestyle. Then there is the string of lovers, fairly obligatory for a 19th century French novelist, ranging from the mature Madame de Berney (Virna Lisi) who is gentle and undemanding, to the married, aristocratic Countess Eva Hanska (Fanny Ardant), and the final great love of his life, Mademoiselle Hanska, with whom his relationship is cut tragically short.

This is a moving and beautifully-produced two-part dramatisation of Balzac's life in which Depardieu captures the novelist's Dickensian status as an encyclopedic chronicler of his age with his characteristic flair and attention to detail.