A Man of His Time (Notre Salut)

September 1940. Henri Marre, a self-proclaimed author and “political strategist,” arrives alone in Vichy just as the authoritarian regime has taken hold. The 49-year-old is broke, estranged from his family, and carries around copies of his self-published manifesto, “Notre Salut” (Our Salvation). He is determined to secure a place for himself in the new government. In his writing, Henri sets forth his patriotic convictions and his engineer’s approach: efficiency comes first. He claims he wants to help save France in the wake of defeat. He does everything he can to remain useful and navigates the machinery of the new order with ever-greater skill. But perhaps he is pursuing something more urgent: an escape from his own ruin.