So Long, Stooge
So Long, Stooge | |
---|---|
Directed by | Claude Berri |
Written by | Alain Page (novel), Claude Berri |
Produced by | Pierre Grunstein |
Starring | Coluche, Philippe Léotard |
Cinematography | Bruno Nuytten |
Distributed by | European Classics Video (USA) |
Release dates | December 21, 1983 |
Running time | 100 min |
Language | French |
So Long, Stooge (French title: Tchao Pantin) is a 1983 film directed by Claude Berri. It is based on a novel by Alain Page.
Coluche, the main actor, won the "Best Actor" award in 1984 César Award.
Plot
Lambert, a withdrawn middle-aged man, works the night shift at a Parisian petrol station. He has no friends, no family; his only companion is his bottle of rum. One night, a young Arab man, Bensoussan, enters his shop — and his life. This stranger has also no family, lives alone in a dingy room, and scrapes together a living as a drug dealer. The two solitary men develop a friendship — but this is brutally brought to an end when Bensoussan is killed in front of Lambert. Lambert soon realises that his new friend was murdered by his drug dealing associates and sets out to avenge his death — assisted by Lola, a punk girl who knew Bensoussan briefly. By doing this, Lambert manages to come to terms with his own tragic past.
Main cast
- Coluche — Lambert
- Richard Anconina — Bensoussan
- Agnès Soral — Lola
- Philippe Léotard — Bauer
- Ahmed Ben Ismaël — Mahmoud