Les portes de la gloire (2001)

In northern France, Régis Demanet works in sales for Pégase Diffusion, a small door-to-door sales company. This tyrannical leader of a team of traveling salesmen sees Jérôme Le Tallec, the boss’s future son-in-law, arrive under his command. The newcomer tries to fit in and becomes a witness to the unorthodox methods of these door-to-door mercenaries. Alongside other traveling salesmen—Balzac, Patrick Sergent, and Michel Moineau—Jérôme crisscrosses the roads of France and canvasses residential neighborhoods, persuading the gullible to buy the five-volume encyclopedia by Ralph Spiegel, a “visionary and idealistic pacifist.” Régis sees Jérôme’s arrival as an opportunity to fulfill his personal ambitions within Pégase. In his quest for power, he is guided by his mentor, the emblematic Colonel Nicholson, the martial officer from The Bridge on the River Kwai.