Am Rande der Nacht

In 1984, it was a quite different performer that got the Cesar for best actor, Coluche for "Tchao Pantin". In order to understand this win, one first has to learn who Coluche was.

Coluche was an actor who had established himself as a popular comedian before this film. His humour was quite crude, with him being one of the first French comedians that used swearwords to make jokes. He made fun of the establishment, and some of his jokes can be deemed politically incorrect today (for example, in the 1983 hit film "Banzaï", he made a joke by taking an inhaler from a patient while in the hospital, in order to relax). It should come as a surprise, then, that he accepted such a different role in Tchao Pantin.

At the time of the film's shooting, Coluche was having problems in his personal life. This enabled him to have an even more intense performance that ultimately won him the award.

In this film, he plays a retired police officer, Lambert, who meets a young man in trouble with criminals, played by Richard Anconina. Anconina was at the time one of the newest faces of French cinema, having been revealed through the film "Le battant", with Alain Delon. The pairing of the two actors was done by director Claude Berri, who made "Jean de Florette" two years later.

Claude Berri had worked again with Coluche in some films before this one, one of those being the excellent "Le maître d'école" (1981), in which Coluche played a schoolteacher. This movie not only showed Coluche's talent as a comedian, but also exposed the problems of the French school system in the 80s. It's plot was engaging, and all the actors gave exquisite performances.

The plot of "Tchao Pantin", though, struggles to get the film going. To my mind it didn't seem to have progressed but a little throughout the whole film, making the end seem a bit abrupt. The story revolves around Coluche's character meeting his only friend in the face of Anconina, whom he loses to a murderer. The ensuing pursuit of the perpetrator by Coluche is all that follows, until he finally gets them, at his own cost.

Director Claude Berri tried in this case to make a film noir, but I find his attempt unsuccessful. The film just keeps dragging on, despite the truly impressive performance of Coluche, who clearly deserved the César award. Anconina's acting left me mostly indifferent. Another performance which didn't really have an impact on me was the one by Agnès Soral, who played Anconina's friend, Lola. While wanting to come off as a punk rebel, she actually made the impression of being bored and not caring for anyone except for herself. To me, the causes of her nomination for the César for the best promising actress remain a mystery.

While I mostly pay attention to the music in the films, the score of this one didn't leave me a lasting impression.

In conclusion, "Tchao Pantin" was a lost opportunity by a good director and a well-paired cast to create an engaging film noir. While Coluche may have deserved accolades for his performance, the total result was the one of a film which set expectations that it ultimately couldn't live up to.

Unique because it is the only crime movie made by Claude Berri; unique because this is also the only crime movie - and also maybe drama - in which Coluche played, who was a comedy actor ( on stage before going to the cinema industry) ; unique because it is one of the last crime film of the French industry before the arrival of Olivier Marchal, nearly twenty years later. But in the mean time, in 1997, you had LE COUSIN, made by Alain Corneau, and also J'IRAI AU PARADIS CAR L'ENFER EST ICI from Xavier Durringer. So, after the amazing LA BALANCE, TCHAO PANTIN is the French crime genre swan song before eighteen years; thanks to the TV industry with its silly crime detective series that diverted audiences from the theaters. And unique because it is a very gloomy, poignant and realistic crime movie, that grabs you to the guts, the blood, no one human can stay cold in front such a feature. No one. Philippe Leotard excellent in the ambiguous cop character, the cop using Coluche's character to get rid of the mobsters. And the most poignant thing is the untold link between Coluche's character, who lost in son a long time ago, and who begins to consider Richard Anconina's character as a kind of surrogate son. The audience guesses it, understands this, without the need to explain anything by useless dialogues. And maybe also Anconina looks at Coluche as a surrogate father. That's true story telling, and not bla bla bla.

26 years later, the movie still has a cult on its own in France (and maybe in some other countries, I'm not aware of that).

Of course the fact that Coluche, a famous french comedy and stand-up artist, died too soon at 42 (in 1986, 3 years after the movie was released) is no stranger to that... not to mention it was his very first (and last) dark role - a deadbeat gas station employee in Paris seeking revenge -and somewhat redemption- by hunting down the killers who murdered his only friend, a young lowlife drug dealer.

Some lazy critics here and there mentioned there was some kind of Melville, Cassavetes and Scorsese influences in the movie but to me, they couldn't be more wrong. Take a close look at it and you won't find any trace of "Taxi Driver" or "Gloria" in it, despite Claude Berri, the director, has tried so hard to put some of these influences in his film.

It's basically a classic urban drama in 2 distinct parts (the "bound of trust / friendship" part 1 and the "hunt/revenge/redemption" part 2, seen in many movies before and after this one) but the tremendous ghost-like interpretation of Coluche (who was facing drug addiction and sentimental issues at the time) and the extraordinary master work of D.P. Bruno Nuytten took it all to rocket the movie to critic and commercial success.

Even if a few script holes might bother some viewers (especially a detective character -called Bauer- who seems to appear/disappear only to provide informations) the wandering of these shadow-like characters won't be forgotten for a long time… and the very ending could ruin your day. Or even your week.

Claude Berri is one of the great artists of family life in French cinema. I have enjoyed so many of his films about youth, courtship, marriage and fatherhood: Mazel Tov, Le cinéma de Papa, La première fois, Un moment d'égarement. The first half of Tchao Pantin works well in this framework, but the second half is just a routine revenge story.

I didn't really respond to the alcohol-blunted efforts of Coluche to rally himself to avenge the killing of Richard Anconina, nor did Agnès Soral's emotional about-face--deciding to help Coluche find the killer--seem believable. This actress has a very inexpressive face, and body to match. A tribute to Bruno Nuytten's wonderful cinematography is in order: there really is nobody like him for rainy night scenes. I'll give 10-10 for Coluche and Anconina, and zero for the rest.

Classic dark French psych thriller featuring Coluche, better known for his stand up comedy dressed in blue and white striped dungarees - Andy Pandy style. His acting as the sad middle aged loser Lambert should have earned him an Oscar.

Having lived in the area where the film is set, (and worked in an auto repair shop)the atmosphere and the photography are spot on. Very sad, complex and entertaining.

If you like this, watch Subway and Diva. The title derives from the area where the film is set - Pantin, a working class quarter in North Paris, and should be with first letter in caps.