COUP DE TORCHON

1981 • 128 minutes

About this movie

His 1981 black comedy/crime drama earned Tavernier an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language film. Stationed in a remote town in Senegal, ineffectual police chief Lucien Cordier (Philippe Noiret) is routinely harassed by thugs and nagged by his adulterous wife Huguette (Stephane Audran). Pushed to the limits, Lucien finally flips, embarking on a killing spree aimed at ridding himself of his tormentors and anyone else who has ever slighted him.