Movies

Regarded by his adversaries as a "runt," a "midget" and a right-wing vulgarian, Nicolas Sarkozy nevertheless rose to power in 2007, eventually becoming president of France.

In the process, thanks to an all-consuming media circus, he lost an exasperated second wife, Cecilia (who was also his hardworking campaign manager) to another man.

According to Xavier Durringer's fast-paced, engaging new comedy drama, "The Conquest," the public charisma that earned Sarkozy the nickname "The Energizer Bunny" also sent his private life straight to hell.

The movie bills itself as "a work of fiction" but names are named and anecdotes are dramatized (or satirized). Setting out to overturn leftist leaders and their "four decades of failure," Sarkozy finds himself in competition with veteran politicians Jacques Chirac and Dominique de Villepin.

An actor-comedian, Denis Podalydès, plays Sarkozy with a punkish confidence that quickly makes up for the fact that he doesn't look that much like France's current president. Whether he's openly insulting or betraying the competition or he's just making a show out of lighting up a cigar, he suggests an unstoppable nature.

Florence Pernel, who plays Cecilia, manages not to turn the character into a one-note dummy. Partly this is because the scenes with the overbearing press are so hysterical that you're all but forced to agree with her that this is no way for adults to live.

If some of the political language reminds you of the current challenges to the White House, at least it doesn't feel as tortured as Margaret Thatcher's sloganlike pronouncements in the much stiffer "The Iron Lady."

Sarkozy seems to mean exactly what he says, even when he's lying for his cause, and Podalydès has the skill to demonstrate that.

John Hartl: johnhartl@yahoo.com