Bitter Victory

Xavier Alvarez (Cornillac) is a successful self-made man. His construction business is doing well, yet he still goes to extreme lengths to hide his humble origins. When Alvarez meets Vincent Cluzel (Clavier), a deputy running for mayor, he befriends the candidate and decides to help his campaign, secretly hoping that a victory will grant him public contracts. Putting all his strength – and money – in the election, Alvarez makes over their image of his protégé and succeeds in implicating the main opponent in a political/industrial scandal. Cluzel carries the election, and now it’s payback time for Alvarez. First enthusiastic and full of hope, he soon learns that politics is like no other business – victory can be very bitter.