''Jigsaw'' (french: L'Homme en colère) is a 1979 Canadian-French

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Claude Pinoteau Claude Pinoteau (25 May 1925 – 5 October 2012) was a French film director and scriptwriter. Born in Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts de Seine, Île-de-France, France. He died in Neuilly-sur-Seine, aged 87. (in French) His sister was the actress ...

and starring

Lino Ventura Angiolino Giuseppe Pasquale Ventura (14 July 1919 – 22 October 1987), known as Lino Ventura, was an Italian actor who grew up in France and starred in many French films. Born in Italy, he was raised in Paris by his mother. After a first caree ...

and

Angie Dickinson Angeline Dickinson (née Brown; born September 30, 1931) is an American actress. She began her career on television, appearing in many anthology series during the 1950s, before gaining her breakthrough role in '' Gun the Man Down'' (1956) wi ...

. Ventura later said of the film, "The story had problems. They were not worked out. It is easy to say, the story is everything, it must be good. But then you ask, 'What is a good story?' and I must say to you, that is one of the mysteries of the cinema."FESTIVAL OF FESTIVALS Lino Ventura is one star who thanks his lucky stars Scott, Jay. The Globe and Mail 12 Sep 1980: P.15. The film's main topic is

identity theft Identity theft occurs when someone uses another person's personal identifying information, like their name, identifying number, or credit card number, without their permission, to commit fraud or other crimes. The term ''identity theft'' was c ...

. A retired pilot is informed that his son was killed by the police. When called to examine the body, he realizes that a complete stranger was impersonating his son and using his son's passport. The father goes in search of his missing son.

Plot

Romain Dupré (Lino Ventura), a retired and widowed French commercial pilot, arrives in Montreal from Paris. He has been summoned to identify the body of his estranged son, Julien (

Laurent Malet Laurent Marie Guespin-Malet (born 3 September 1955, in Bayonne) is a French actor, and the twin brother of actor Pierre Malet. Life Malet's stage debut came in '' La guerre de Troie n'aura pas lieu'' as Troilus alongside Claude Jade in 1975. In ...

), who was killed in a police shootout. But the body Dupré is presented with at the morgue is not of his son. The dead man, who was in possession of Julien's passport, is eventually identified as Luigi Lentini, a wanted criminal. Police superintendent MacKenzie (

Chris Wiggins Christopher John Wiggins (January 13, 1931 – February 19, 2017) was an English-born Canadian actor. Career He started out as a banker in his home country before he began his acting career in Canada, where he moved in 1952. Wiggins is probably ...

) informs Dupré that his son has overstayed his visa, and suggests he may have sold his passport for money. Realising that Julien is probably in trouble and possibly in danger, Dupré embarks on a search for his son. On his way, he meets Karen (Angie Dickinson), a beautiful and voluble ex-convict...

Cast

as Romain Dupré *

as Karen *

as Julien *

as MacKenzie * Hollis McLaren as Nancy * R. H. Thomson as Borke *

Lisa Pelikan Lisa Pelikan is an American stage, film, and television actress. Born in Berkeley, California, Pelikan studied drama at the Juilliard School on a full scholarship. She subsequently made her Broadway debut in a 1977 production of ''Romeo and Juli ...

as Anne *

Donald Pleasence Donald Henry Pleasence (; 5 October 1919 – 2 February 1995) was an English actor. He began his career on stage in the West End before transitioning into a screen career, where he played numerous supporting and character roles including RAF ...

as Rumpelmayer

Production

''L'Homme en colère'' was Pinoteau's fourth film, and the third starring Lino Ventura. It was shot in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

and the

Laurentian Mountains The Laurentian Mountains (French: ''Laurentides'') are a mountain range in southern Quebec, Canada, north of the St. Lawrence River and Ottawa River, rising to a highest point of at Mont Raoul Blanchard, northeast of Quebec City in the Laurent ...

. It remains as the only film in which Lino Ventura, a man known for his moral values and who had been married for more than 35 years, ever kissed a woman on the mouth. According to director Claude Pinoteau, "It was like asking him to perform some frighteningly dangerous stunt".

Reception

In ''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

'', Jean de Baroncelli praised Pinoteau for his direction, stating that the film "intrigues, captivates", but described the father-son relationship as "unconvincing".

References

External links

* * 1979 films 1979 drama films Films shot in Montreal Films set in Montreal Films directed by Claude Pinoteau English-language French films Films scored by Claude Bolling Films about identity theft French-language Canadian films Canadian drama films French drama films 1970s Canadian films 1970s French films {{1970s-France-film-stub