Writer-director Claude Berri’s 1983 crime drama Tchao Pantin, also known as So Long, Stooge, is set in a world between dusk and dawn. It begins, as the cliché goes, on a dark and stormy night, with a young Arab man, Bensoussan (Richard Anconina), arriving at a gas station looking for a spark plug for his dead moped. Graveyard-shift worker Lambert (Coluche) says that he doesn’t have one, and after Benoussan politely leaves, that would seem to be the end of their association. But circumstance keeps bringing Bensoussan and Lambert together, not least because they’re nocturnal creatures who approach things with a gentle, detached irony.
Lambert may be a creature of the night, but he looks like he never adjusted to his own schedule; the bags under his eye are nearly as blue as his garage uniform, and his slicked hair and pencil mustache look more like oil stains than natural fibers. What draws him to Bensoussan is a mystery, but it’s obvious that once the door to a connection is cracked open, he falls through it out of an eagerness to make a friend for the first time in god knows how long.
Coluche may wear Lambert’s world-weariness on his entire body, but he lets more and more gentleness shine through his gruff and cautious interactions with the younger man as the film proceeds. And yet, just as Lambert finally opens himself fully to this bond, Bensoussan falls prey to the risks of his profession and ends up murdered in front of his new pal.
From here, Tchao Pantin shifts gears into neo-noir territory as the grief-stricken Lambert goes on a one-man quest to avenge his friend, and the smoldering rage in his face lends credibility to what might otherwise have been an absurd sight of a paunchy, middle-aged man intimidating various punks and lowlifes of the Parisian underground with ties to Bensoussan. Coluche’s single-minded intensity as Lambert marked an against-type performance for the actor, a comedian who became renowned for his envelope-pushing social satire.
In 1980, Coluche announced his candidacy for the French presidential election, but pressure from François Mitterrand and the murder of his manager, René Gorlin, led to his withdrawal. The resulting impact on his personal and professional reputation is borne out in the way that the actor, only 39, appears prematurely aged and weary here. Even when later revelations about Lambert’s past provide fuller explanation for his level of emotional investment in Bensoussan’s death and surprising toughness, it’s the image that Coluche projects as a man who has lost his last tether to human connection that makes Lambert believable as an equalizer.
Some of the film’s late developments, such as an unlikely romantic bond formed between Lambert and Bensoussan’s girlfriend, Lola (Agnès Soral), and a telegraphed ending lean too hard into genre tropes. Nonetheless, Berri’s methodical direction befits Lambert’s steely resolve and spartan attitude, and in spite of the director’s long experience in the French film industry, Tchao Pantin could easily pass as an early example of the nation’s “cinéma du look” movement of stylistically inclined genre movies from maverick young filmmakers.
Image/Sound
Sourced from a 4K restoration by Pathé approved by Nuytten, Radiance’s transfer calls attention to Bruno Nytten’s cool-toned and metallic-textured cinematography. The nighttime exteriors are rendered with deep black levels, while the glints of light reflecting off of vehicular and mechanical surfaces sparkle like fireflies against the dark backgrounds. Detail is sharp throughout, evident in everything from the bricolage of Lambert’s workspace to the sallow features of his insomniac face. The mono soundtrack is well-balanced, foregrounding dialogue but ably capturing all the loud and soft street noise of nightlife around the characters.
Extras
The disc comes with an hour-long 2003 documentary on Tchao Pantin’s making and legacy, proving ample social context behind the domestic and international politics facing France in the early 1980s, as well as the turbulent personal lives of both Claude Berri and Coluche. A new interview with film scholar Michael Abecassis further explicates the long cultural afterlife that the film enjoyed in France. In her booklet essay, critic Manuela Lazić provides an overview of Coluche’s life and career to contextualize his César-winning performance here.
Overall
Claude Berri’s despondent neo-noir looks gorgeous on Radiance’s gleaming transfer.
Since 2001, we've brought you uncompromising, candid takes on the world of film, music, television, video games, theater, and more. Independently owned and operated publications like Slant have been hit hard in recent years, but we’re committed to keeping our content free and accessible—meaning no paywalls or fees.
If you like what we do, please consider subscribing to our Patreon or making a donation.
