Notre salut, a film currently in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, features Swann Arlaud as a mid-level bureaucrat who seeks to climb the ranks by aligning himself with the Vichy regime during World War II. Based on the story of director Emmanuel Marre's great-grandfather, the film received the Best Screenplay award at Cannes. The story explores the complexities of life under the German occupation and the moral dilemmas faced by individuals during that period. Swann Arlaud, who has long been known for supporting roles in film and television, began to gain recognition in 2015 with roles in Ni le ciel ni la terre by Clément Cogitore and Les Anarchistes by Élie Wajeman. His breakthrough came in 2018 when he won the César for Best Actor for his role in Petit Paysan. Since then, he has been recognized twice for Best Actor in a Supporting Role: once in 2020 for Grâce à Dieu by François Ozon, and again in 2024 for Anatomie d'une chute by Justine Triet. In Grâce à Dieu, Arlaud portrays one of the victims of Father Bernard Preynat, a Catholic priest in France who sexually abused minors. The film, inspired by real events, adopts a near-documentary style and was awarded the Grand Jury Prize at the Berlinale in 2019. It has received widespread acclaim, with over 5,900 ratings and nearly 490 reviews on AlloCiné, giving it an average score of 4.2 out of 5. Audience reviews praise the film's intelligent and moving portrayal of the subject, the strong performances, and its unflinching look at the suffering of the victims and the institutional failures that allowed the abuse to continue. Critics have highlighted the performances of the main actors, particularly Swann Arlaud, whose portrayal of a scarred and fragile victim is considered exceptional. The film is noted for its restrained approach, avoiding sentimentality while still conveying the gravity of the subject. It also explores themes of self-reconstruction, shame, and the difficulty of speaking about trauma, as well as the relationship with faith and the possibility of continuing to believe in God. The film's score, composed by the Galperine brothers, is also praised for enhancing the emotional impact of the story.