Les Hommes nouveaux (Marcel L’Herbier, 1936): Nostalgia,masculinity and the French colonial film of the 1930s

This article examines the meaning of nostalgia and some of the reasons why the France of the 1930s was prone to nostalgic longings. It then considers why the colonial film lends itself to the expression of these nostalgic feelings whilst also pointing to some of the paradoxes attached to such an endeavour. Finally, the article offers a study of Les Hommes nouveaux which focuses exclusively on the ‘biopic’ element of the film and on the kind of past that is reconstructed through the figure of Marshal Lyautey, as well as on the exclusions necessary for the preservation of ideological harmony.