PARIS — Politics in France has rarely been more divisive, but presidential candidates of various political persuasions have finally found something they agree on: The new movie about Charles de Gaulle is a masterpiece.

“De Gaulle,” a two-part, five-hour-long opus, has become an unexpected summer hit after a slow start at the box office. The film tells the lesser-known tale of the legendary general’s political maneuvering to maintain France’s sovereignty and fend off a domineering American president’s plans for Europe.

“De Gaulle” is a movie for the moment, and not just because the comfort of dark, air-conditioned theaters offers refuge from heat waves scorching France this summer.