The film relates the historical case of Martin Guerre, who leaves his young wife in a small French village to go fight in a war and to travel.

After several elevations of the proceedings up to a court in the Parlement, the judge, Jean de Coras, prepares to acquit Martin primarily on the strength of the testimony of Bertrande.

The Return of Martin Guerre was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film by the U.S. National Board of Review of Motion Pictures.

[3] In 1983, a book of the same name was published by Natalie Zemon Davis, an American historian of early modern France and professor at Princeton University.

Sommersby is a 1993 Hollywood remake of the film in English, transposed to the American Civil War and starring Richard Gere and Jodie Foster.

A West End (London) musical produced by Cameron Mackintosh, Martin Guerre, was loosely based on the film with additional material from historical accounts.