«The Professional» (Le Professionnel) is a French dramatic thriller

«The Professional» (French: Le Professionnel) is a French dramatic thriller film with action elements, directed by Georges Lautner and based on the novel Death of a Thin-Skinned Animal (1976) by British writer Patrick Alexander.
Jean-Paul Belmondo stars in the lead role.

The score was composed by Ennio Morricone. The themes “Chi Mai” (written ten years before the film) and “Le Vent, le Cri” gained worldwide recognition.

French secret agent Josselin Beaumont is sent by the government to the fictional African country of Malagawi to assassinate President N’Jala, who is opposed to French interests. Suddenly the political situation changes, and in order to prevent the assassination at the last moment (as it is no longer required), the French secret services hand Beaumont over to the authorities of the African republic. After torture and drug-induced interrogations, he is sentenced to a long term in a “correctional camp.” Beaumont escapes from the camp together with a Black fellow prisoner. The two men fight an arriving military unit in the village; Beaumont’s companion is killed.

Upon returning to Paris, Beaumont sends a coded telegram to his former superiors, warning them that he intends to carry out the mission originally assigned to him by his country. By doing so, he challenges the French secret services that betrayed him.

Meanwhile, President N’Jala arrives in France on an official visit. The French authorities hope to gain access to vital uranium mines in his country in exchange for building a turnkey nuclear power plant, and they mobilize the secret services to protect the dictator. Beaumont successfully outwits the agents, avenges the interrogation and beating of his wife, exposes the betrayal of his friend and colleague Captain Valera, and kills Commissioner Rosen — who has been relentlessly pursuing him — in a fair duel.

Beaumont infiltrates the Château de Ferrières near Paris, where the security services have housed N’Jala. He manages to set up N’Jala so that he is shot by Assistant Inspector Farges. Beaumont’s revenge succeeds: the president is dead and the French secret services are disgraced. The hero calmly walks toward the helicopter waiting for him (N’Jala’s helicopter). At that moment, Beaumont’s former superior, Colonel Martin, pressures the minister into issuing an order to “stop Beaumont.” After some hesitation, the minister gives the order, and Farges shoots Beaumont in the back.

• The final scene was filmed at Château de Maintenon in the department of Eure-et-Loir. In the film, the castle is referred to under a name similar to “Château de Ferrières.”
• The duel / confrontation between Belmondo (Joss) and Commissioner Rosen (Robert Hossein) was shot in Boulogne-Billancourt. Exact location: Cour des Longs-Prés (the courtyard of the Point-du-Jour residential complex / Fernand Pouillon buildings), between rue du Point-du-Jour and avenue Pierre-Grenier.
  Coordinates: 48.828374° N, 2.248308° E
  Approximate address: 101 Cours des Longs Prés, Boulogne-Billancourt.
  This is the famous “man against man” scene (around 1:28:55), in which the two men face each other and a florist intervenes. The location has remained almost unchanged.
• The African scenes were filmed in the Camargue; the interiors were shot in studios.
• The film was shot from 5 May to 13 July 1981.

Director: Georges Lautner

Producers:
Jean-Paul Belmondo, Georges Dancigers, Alexandre Mnouchkine

Screenwriters:
Patrick Alexander, Jacques Audiard, Pierre Michel Audiard (Michel Audiard), Georges Lautner

Main cast:

• Jean-Paul Belmondo — Major Josselin “Joss” Beaumont
• Robert Hossein — Commissioner Rosen
• Pierre Saintons — President of Malagawi N’Jala
• Cyrielle Clair — Alice Ancelin (Beaumont’s mistress)
• Michel Beaune — Captain Édouard Valera
• Pascal Nzonzi — Arthur (secretary to the President of Malagawi)
• Jean Desailly — French Minister of the Interior
• Jean-Louis Richard — Colonel Martin
• Élisabeth Margoni — Jeanne (Beaumont’s wife)
• Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu — Assistant Inspector Farges
• Pierre Vernier — Salvatore Wolfoni (wealthy man from the hotel)
• Marie-Christine Descouard — Doris Frederiksen (high-class prostitute, N’Jala’s mistress)
• Gérard Darrieu — Colonel Picard
• Danièle Kogan — Sergeant Gruber
• Sidiki Bakaba — escaped prisoner

The film The Professional was based on the novel The Death of a Thin-Skinned Animal (1976) by British writer Patrick Alexander. Jean-Paul Belmondo personally purchased the film rights to the book.

In the original novel, the protagonist is a British special agent named Richard Abbs, and part of the action takes place in London. Belmondo relocated all the events to France and turned the character into the French super-agent Josselin “Joss” Beaumont.

Although Belmondo changed the ending compared with the original screenplay, the film’s conclusion is closer to the spirit of the original book, in which the hero’s fate is also tragic. However, the cinematic scene with the helicopter was specifically directed according to the actor’s wishes.