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.
