MONTREAL — It is a plot worthy of Hollywood: A courageous, one-eyed soldier single-handedly liberates a Dutch city during World War II, tricking a German officer into believing the city is surrounded.

Just in case there are any doubters, he rampages through the streets throwing grenades, firing his rifle and — in a final act of defiance — lights the Gestapo headquarters on fire.

Now more than 70 years later, the soldier, Léo Major, a onetime farmer from Montreal, is getting wide recognition in Canada after an hourlong documentary about his life was shown last month on Radio-Canada, the national broadcaster. The news media dubbed him “Quebec’s Rambo.”

He is also the subject of a feature film and a biography set to be published in February.

“What Léo did is larger than life and sounds like something even greater than an action movie. But until now, few Canadians knew who he was,” said Bruno DesRosiers, director of the documentary, “The One-Eyed Ghost.”