Primary Colors on France 5: John Travolta in a presidential campaign

The race for the White House as seen through the eyes of a campaign team: Primary Colors returns to France 5. John Travolta stars as Jack Stanton, a Southern governor running for president of the United States, in this political comedy directed by Mike Nichols.

The story follows Henry Burton, a young idealist played by Adrian Lester. The grandson of a civil rights activist, he joins Stanton in the hope of serving a cause. As allegations about the candidate’s private life intrude on the campaign, Henry also discovers the compromises made by those around him. Emma Thompson plays Susan Stanton, the governor’s wife, who is by his side in this race for power.

Written for the screen by Elaine May, the film adapts Joe Klein’s novel, inspired by Bill Clinton’s campaign for the 1992 Democratic nomination. It uses fictional characters to tell the story of what goes on behind the scenes of a campaign. Screened out of competition, Primary Colors opened the 1998 Cannes Film Festival.

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