In a unspecified country in 17th-century Europe, Ursus, a travelling showman, finds two abandoned children in the middle of a winter storm. The boy, Gwynplaine, has had his mouth mutilated into a perpetual grin and the girl, Dea, is blind. Ursus takes in and raises the two children. Gwynplaine and Dea grow up and fall in love. They travel the roads with Ursus, giving a show in which Gwynplaine becomes the star. As their show is more and more successful and the "Man who laughs" becomes a sensation, Gwynplaine gains the opportunity to join high society and discover the secret of his origins. But as he does so, he drifts apart from Dea and Ursus.
Director Jean-Pierre Améris had the idea of adapting Victor Hugo's novel after watching a French television adaptation as a child, and later reading the book as a teenager.[2]
Boyd Van Hoeij from Variety was critical of the film, writing, "Less faithful to its source material and more concerned with delivering the goods visually, this handsome, studio-shot pic, somewhat ironically, lacks genuine pathos in telling its tale of how deceiving looks can be."[7] Neil Young from The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a positive review, writing, "Thoroughly old-fashioned but ultimately moving literary adaptation has more than enough exploitable features to indicate long-term commercial success."[8]
In December 2012, one of the film's lead actors, Gérard Depardieu, became embroiled in a controversy regarding his tax exile in Belgium. After being publicly criticized by the French government for his tax avoidance move, Depardieu announced that he would give up his French passport. Russian President Vladimir Putin then offered Depardieu citizenship and tax residence in Russia, which the actor accepted.[9] The film was released theatrically in France in the midst of the controversy, and bombed at the box-office.[10] Améris acknowledged that the controversy surrounding Depardieu had significantly hurt the film's release in France. According to Améris, some theater owners even refused to show the film as part of the backlash against Depardieu.[11]
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