In Paris’ 18th district, Lambert works the night shift at a gas station, rarely speaking, living alone, and drinking. One day, a half-Jewish, half-arab small-time crook comes in dire straits, pushing a Moped. Named Bensoussan, he takes refuge at the station, pretending he needs a spark plug. The two men become friends.
Radiance Films continues highlighting forgotten cinema with their release of director Claude Berri’s “Tchao Pantin.” The film, released in December 1983, was France’s selection for that year’s Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film but was not selected as a nominee. Despite not making the cut for the US awards, the film was a hit in its home country and France’s César Awards for 1984, winning in multiple categories.
Berri’s movie is one of those films that, at first, doesn’t seem to have much of a plot. Lambert (Coluche – in a breakthrough performance) works nights at a gas station in Paris. One night, a young man, Bensoussan (Richard Anconina), shows up looking to repair his broken motorcycle. The two form a friendship. The actors do a fantastic job of establishing a natural relationship despite the randomness of their encounter.
“Tchao Pantin” takes its time setting up the main plotline. It finally unveiled itself when I was really getting edgy trying to figure out where this movie was going. This is your forewarning to be patient with the film because a payoff is coming. It might not be the most explosive payoff, but everything will tie together nicely by the end. At about the halfway point, things really ramp up with the film revealing itself as a French neo-noir. I won’t get into plot specifics because it would spoil the movie’s second half.
The disc from Radiance features a 4K restoration of the film from the original camera negative. In a word, it’s excellent. This movie has been given a very nice presentation on this disc. I didn’t notice anything untoward in the encode. The audio is also fine, featuring the film’s original mono audio mix.
For this limited edition, Radiance has included the customary booklet with writing on the film (an essay by Manuela Lazic). On the disc is an introduction by French cinema scholar Dr. Michael Abecassis, a documentary about the film and the trailer. I started by watching the introduction, which distills much information about the movie without spoiling anything for those who want a little history before viewing the film. The documentary, running about 50 minutes, features interviews with writer/director Claude Berri, novelist Alain Page, and the film’s stars.
The film is a bit of a slow burn, but it is definitely worth the watch. Its success in France is no surprise. Hopefully, with this release, the film can find a new audience in the UK and US.
Available on Blu-ray™ July 30th
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