''The Professional'' (original title: ''Le Professionnel''; ) is a 1981 French
action
Action may refer to:
* Action (narrative), a literary mode
* Action fiction, a type of genre fiction
* Action game, a genre of video game
Film
* Action film, a genre of film
* ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford
* ''Action'' (1980 fil ...
Georges Lautner
Georges Lautner (; 24 January 1926 – 22 November 2013) was a French film director and screenwriter, known primarily for his comedies created in collaboration with screenwriter Michel Audiard.
Lautner's ventures into other genres were less ...
. The film stars
Jean-Paul Belmondo
Jean-Paul Charles Belmondo (; 9 April 19336 September 2021) was a French actor and producer. Initially associated with the New Wave of the 1960s, he was a major French film star for several decades from the 1960s onward. His best known credits ...
as the title role. The film is based on award-winning 1976 novel ''Death of a Thin-Skinned Animal'' by Patrick Alexander.
The film was a commercial success upon its theatrical release and was the fourth most watched feature film in France in 1981 behind '' La Chèvre'', '' Raiders of the Lost Ark'' and ''
The Fox and the Hound
''The Fox and the Hound'' is a 1981 American animated buddy drama film produced by Walt Disney Productions and loosely based on the 1967 novel of the same name by Daniel P. Mannix. The 24th Disney animated feature film, the film tells the st ...
Chi Mai
"Chi Mai" (Italian: whoever) is a composition by Ennio Morricone written in 1971. It was used in the films ''Maddalena'' directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz (1971)
Plot
French secret agent Josselin Beaumont is sent to kill Colonel Njala, the dictator of Malagawi, a fictional
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
n country. However, before he manages to accomplish his mission, the political situation changes drastically and the French secret service resorts to handing over Beaumont to the Malagawian authorities. After a long, unfair trial, during which Beaumont is injected with drugs, he is sentenced to long-term penal servitude at a "re-education camp".
Following a daring escape with an African inmate, he returns to France and informs the French secret service of his presence, promising that he will kill Njala, who is in France for an official visit, thus getting his revenge on the people who betrayed him. The secret service responds by setting other agents on Beaumont's trail. However, he manages to remain one step ahead, humiliating and killing some of his major betrayers, including Rosen, the sadistic chief of the secret police. After Rosen falls in a gunfight, Beaumont takes Rosen's identity card and puts his dogtags on his body, spreading confusion within the secret service and temporarily reducing Njala's guard. Beaumont eventually tricks a secret service agent into shooting the dictator. While government officials confer with higher authorities, he slowly walks towards Njala's helicopter, but is shot dead by government agents, who have received the order to do so.
Cast
*
Jean-Paul Belmondo
Jean-Paul Charles Belmondo (; 9 April 19336 September 2021) was a French actor and producer. Initially associated with the New Wave of the 1960s, he was a major French film star for several decades from the 1960s onward. His best known credits ...
as Josselin “Joss” Beaumont
*
Robert Hossein
Robert Hossein (30 December 1927 – 31 December 2020) was a French film actor, director, and writer. He directed the 1982 adaptation of ''Les Misérables'' and appeared in '' Vice and Virtue'', '' Le Casse'', '' Les Uns et les Autres'' and '' ...
Jean Desailly
Jean Desailly (24 August 1920 – 11 June 2008) was a French actor. He was a member of the Comédie-Française from 1942 to 1946, and later participated in about 90 movies.
Life and career
Desailly studied at the École nationale supérieure des ...
as le ministre
*
Cyrielle Clair
Cyrielle Clair (born 1 December 1955) is a French actress. She has appeared in 55 films and television shows since 1978. Clair starred in the 1983 film '' La Belle captive'', which was entered into the 33rd Berlin International Film Festival.
S ...
Jean-Louis Richard
Jean-Louis Richard (17 May 1927 – 3 June 2012) was a French actor, film director and scriptwriter.
Biography
Born as Jean Marius Richard in Paris, Richard was Jeanne Moreau's first husband from 1949 to 1951.
Partial filmography
*1960: '' À ...
as le colonel Martin
*
Michel Beaune
Michel Beaune (1933–1990) was a French actor.
Filmography
*1960: '' Trapped by Fear'' - Un ami de Paul (uncredited)
*1961: ''Les godelureaux''
*1964: '' Backfire'' - Daniel
*1970: '' The Confession'' - L'avocat
*1970: '' The Time to Die'' ...
as le capitaine Valeras
* Pierre Saintons as le président N'Jala
*
Pascal N'Zonzi
Pascal N'Zonzi (born 1 January 1951) is a French actor and stage director.
Filmography
Theater
Dubbing
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:N'Zonzi, Pascal
1951 births
Living people
French male film actors
French male telev ...
as Arthur
*
Gérard Darrieu
Gérard Darrieu (1925–2004) was a French actor.
Selected filmography
*1950: ''Three Telegrams'' (directed by Henri Decoin) - Jeune dragueur
*1951: '' Juliette, or Key of Dreams'' - Un prisonnier (uncredited)
*1951: ''Boîte de nuit'' - Le g ...
as l'instructeur Picard
*
Sidiki Bakaba
Sidiki Bakaba (born in Abengourou, 1949) is an actor, scenario writer and director from Côte d'Ivoire.
He lives and works in Abidjan. After studying at the National School of Drama of Abidjan, he conducted training at the Living Theatre and ...
Françafrique
In international relations, () is France's sphere of influence (or in French, meaning 'backyard') over former French and Belgian colonies in sub-Saharan Africa. The term was derived from the expression , which was used by the first president ...