My Father Saved My Life

My Father Saved My Life

2001 · 115 min · ★ 7.4 · Drama

Novelist and filmmaker Jose Giovanni turned to the remarkable true story of how his father helped him escape a date with the guillotine for this drama, which is based closely on events from his own life. During World War II, Manu (Vincent Lecoeur, as a character Giovanni modeled after himself) fought with the French Resistance, but near the end of the war he fell into a life of crime, and in 1947, 22-year-old Manu was arrested for his part in a bungled robbery that left a man dead. While Manu did not pull the fatal trigger, he refuses to say who did, since it would mean implicating his uncle, one of the few members of his family who has stood by him; Manu's brother is dead, and he turned his back on his father Joe (Bruno Cremer) years ago. Manu is sentenced to death, and while he protests his innocence, his attempts to escape from prison do little to convince anyone that he's telling the truth.

Directed by José Giovanni · Written by José Giovanni

Your Rating

Where to Watch

Streaming

Cast

Make it a double feature

3h 55m together

My Father Saved My Life

My Friend the Traitor

Both from José Giovanni.

More from José GiovanniSee all →

L'Irlandaise

L'Irlandaise · 1991

A lonely advertising executive finds himself in charge of an Irish teenager with suicidal ideas about heroism.

Le Trou

Le Trou · 1960

MovieDramaThriller

Four prison inmates have been hatching a plan to literally dig out of jail when another prisoner, Claude Gaspard, is moved into their cell. They take a risk and share their plan with the newcomer. Over the course of three days, the prisoners and friends break through the concrete floor using a bed post and begin to make their way through the sewer system – yet their escape is anything but assured.

The Wise Guys

The Wise Guys · 1965

MovieAdventureComedy

Hector Valentin returns to France from Canada when he inherits a small sawmill. He has difficulties restarting the run-down operation which has inefficient workers and is hampered by the dirty tactics of its bigger...

Le Deuxième Souffle

Le Deuxième Souffle · 1966

Le Deuxième Souffle

MovieActionDrama

A gangster escapes jail and quickly makes plans to continue his criminal ways elsewhere, but a determined inspector is closing in.

The Sicilian Clan

The Sicilian Clan · 1969

The Sicilian Clan

MovieCrimeDrama

An ambitious mobster plans an elaborate diamond heist while seducing the daughter-in-law of a ruthless mob patriarch as a determined police commissioner closes in on all of them.

Where Did Tom Go?

Where Did Tom Go? · 1971

Where Did Tom Go?

MovieActionAdventure

Tom is a secretary for an association which aims to free political prisoners. Skipping from inaction he plans and kills dictator Anton Caras. Arrested he ends up in a jail full of political prisoners for whose freedom he had been working. Eventually he manages to escape but only one would follow him. The others preferred to stay and testify before the court.

Last Known Address

Last Known Address · 1970

Last Known Address

MovieThrillerCrime

Marceau Léonetti, a competent and energetic officer stops by chance the son of an influential lawyer driving under the influence of alcohol. A few months later, the lawyer falsely accuses Léonetti as being violent and incompetent. As a result Marceau is transferred to a small police station, where he meets young and beautiful Jeanne. Soon they are faced with a tough investigation.

Two Men in Town

Two Men in Town · 1973

Two Men in Town

MovieCrimeDrama

A former bank robber is released after 10 years in prison. He gets help from a social-worker, but gets harassed by an old cop from his past.

The Big Risk

The Big Risk · 1960

Two men pull off a daring daylight payroll heist in Milan, making a fast getaway. One is returning to France after years in hiding, needing money to start fresh with his family.

The Last Adventure

The Last Adventure · 1967

The Last Adventure

MovieAdventureDrama

Two adventurers and best friends, Roland and Manu, are the victims of a practical joke that costs Manu his pilot's license. With seeming contrition, the jokesters tell Roland and Manu about a crashed plane lying on the ocean floor off the coast of Congo stuffed with riches. The adventurers set off to find the loot.

The Pariah

The Pariah · 1972

MovieCrimeDrama

For more than 15 years, two Marseille friends and criminals battle the law, rival gangs, prison authorities and even mined beaches in order to survive.

Symphony for a Massacre

Symphony for a Massacre · 1963

Symphony for a Massacre

MovieCrimeDrama

A band of gangsters devise a plan to steal a game contested between two drug gangs of drug traffickers: the five fraudsters will face bigger problems than them.

The Sewers of Paradise

The Sewers of Paradise · 1979

The Sewers of Paradise

MovieActionCrime

In July of 1976, the Societé Générale of France was robbed of well over $10 million dollars by a group burrowing through the sewers of Paris. This movie is based on a book by the thieves' mastermind, Albert Spaggiari. The famous theft won the nickname, "the great drain robbery," and this romanticized cinematic retelling of the true story stars Francis Huster as Spaggiari.

My Friend the Traitor

My Friend the Traitor · 1988

My Friend the Traitor

MovieDramaThriller

After the end of World War II, a collaborationist seeks redemption.

The Ruffian

The Ruffian · 1983

MovieDramaAdventure

The adventures of a group of friends who plan to recover crates full of gold from a fall in Canada.

The Old Fox

The Old Fox · 1977

SeriesCrimeDrama

A police department, lead by an older, experienced detective solve crimes together.

More Like This

Couldn't load this row right now.

More on NetflixSee all →

Facing El Chapo

Facing El Chapo · 2026

Facing El Chapo

MovieCrimeAction

Two Mexican officers must survive the final hours of their shift after crossing a ruthless cartel boss.

The Whisper Man

The Whisper Man · 2026

The Whisper Man

MovieCrimeDrama

When his young son vanishes, a widower enlists help from his estranged father, a retired detective who put away the serial killer now linked to the case.

Spider-Man: No Way Home

Spider-Man: No Way Home · 2021

Spider-Man: No Way Home

MovieActionAdventure

Peter Parker is unmasked and no longer able to separate his normal life from the high-stakes of being a super-hero. When he asks for help from Doctor Strange the stakes become even more dangerous, forcing him to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man.

The Secret Woman

The Secret Woman · 2026

The Secret Woman

MovieDramaThriller

After discovering she has a family and a shipping empire, a woman with amnesia returns to a wealthy and seemingly perfect past to uncover why she left.

The Last House

The Last House · 2026

MovieHorrorScience Fiction

A family suddenly sealed inside their home must work together to survive against dwindling resources and the ominous threat keeping them trapped.

Spider-Man

Spider-Man · 2002

MovieActionScience Fiction

After being bitten by a genetically altered spider at Oscorp, nerdy but endearing high school student Peter Parker is endowed with amazing powers to become the superhero known as Spider-Man.

Spider-Man: Homecoming

Spider-Man: Homecoming · 2017

Spider-Man: Homecoming

MovieActionAdventure

Following the events of Captain America: Civil War, Peter Parker, with the help of his mentor Tony Stark, tries to balance his life as an ordinary high school student in Queens, New York City, with fighting crime as his superhero alter ego Spider-Man as a new threat, the Vulture, emerges.

GOAT

MovieAnimationComedy

A small goat with big dreams gets a once-in-a-lifetime shot to join the pros and play roarball, a high-intensity, co-ed, full-contact sport dominated by the fastest, fiercest animals in the world.

Desire

MovieMysteryDrama

Lucero’s life appears immaculate: a wealthy household, a devoted husband, and two children who embody the promise of a perfect family. Yet beneath this surface simmers a quiet dissatisfaction. When Matías, a young swimming coach hired by her husband, enters their lives, Lucero finds herself pulled into a risky and consuming relationship. As secrecy, desire, and jealousy tighten their grip, the boundaries within the family begin to collapse, placing mother and daughter in a dangerous emotional triangle that threatens to shatter everything Lucero has built.

Elize: Shadows of a Woman

Elize: Shadows of a Woman · 2026

Elize: Shadows of a Woman

MovieThrillerCrime

In this retelling of a real case, a former escort discovers her wealthy husband's infidelity and struggles to cope as betrayal poisons their marriage.

The Wild Robot

The Wild Robot · 2024

MovieFamilyAnimation

After a shipwreck, an intelligent robot called Roz is stranded on an uninhabited island. To survive the harsh environment, Roz bonds with the island's animals and cares for an orphaned baby goose.

Fight Club

Fight Club · 1999

MovieDramaThriller

A ticking-time-bomb insomniac and a slippery soap salesman channel primal male aggression into a shocking new form of therapy. Their concept catches on, with underground "fight clubs" forming in every town, until an eccentric gets in the way and ignites an out-of-control spiral toward oblivion.

Pyaar Prema Kalyanam

Pyaar Prema Kalyanam · 2026

Pyaar Prema Kalyanam

MovieRomanceComedy

When a bride refuses to leave her family home after marriage, her husband must find out if he can adjust to life under his in-laws' roof.

Swapped

Swapped · 2026

MovieAdventureAnimation

A small woodland creature and a majestic bird, two natural sworn enemies of the Valley, magically trade places and set off on an adventure of a lifetime to switch back. Their journey soon uncovers a greater threat—one that could endanger not only their species, but the entire valley they call home.

Spider-Man 3

Spider-Man 3 · 2007

MovieActionAdventure

The seemingly invincible Spider-Man goes up against an all-new crop of villains—including the shape-shifting Sandman. While Spider-Man’s superpowers are altered by an alien organism, his alter ego, Peter Parker, deals with nemesis Eddie Brock and also gets caught up in a love triangle.

War Machine

War Machine · 2026

MovieActionScience Fiction

On one last grueling mission during Army Ranger training, a combat engineer must lead his unit in a fight against a giant otherworldly killing machine.

The Terminator

The Terminator · 1984

MovieActionThriller

In the post-apocalyptic future, reigning tyrannical supercomputers teleport a cyborg assassin known as the "Terminator" back to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor, whose unborn son is destined to lead insurgents against 21st century mechanical hegemony. Meanwhile, the human-resistance movement dispatches a lone warrior to safeguard Sarah. Can he stop the virtually indestructible killing machine?

Spirited Away

Spirited Away · 2001

MovieAnimationFamily

A young girl, Chihiro, becomes trapped in a strange new world of spirits. When her parents undergo a mysterious transformation, she must call upon the courage she never knew she had to free her family.

Howl's Moving Castle

Howl's Moving Castle · 2004

Howl's Moving Castle

MovieFantasyAnimation

Sophie, a young milliner, is turned into an elderly woman by a witch who enters her shop and curses her. She encounters a wizard named Howl and gets caught up in his resistance to fighting for the king.

Kraven the Hunter

Kraven the Hunter · 2024

Kraven the Hunter

MovieActionAdventure

Kraven Kravinoff's complex relationship with his ruthless gangster father, Nikolai, starts him down a path of vengeance with brutal consequences, motivating him to become not only the greatest hunter in the world, but also one of its most feared.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter