ashdoc
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I saw this 40 year old movie on VCD at home on a lazy sunday --- instead of going to the cinema hall....err , multiplex---since no really good movie seems to be in the cinemas....err multiplexes .
The movie is based on the classic novel of the same name by Frederick Forsythe ; and mind you , the novel is one of the great thriller novels of all time . The movie is of course an abridged version of the novel .
The plot is placed ten years earlier than the movie , and the year is 1962---exactly fifty years ago .
That year Algeria was liberated from French colonial rule . To give some of the history behind the plot , the French didnt leave Algeria without a fight . In fact it was a bloody fight . When the Algerians revolted against the French , the French used brutal torture to quell the rebellion in what was known as the battle of Algiers ( search google for that ). But this aroused international sympathy for the Algerian cause and when world war hero Charles De Gaulle was elected as president of France he announced that he was going to give independence to Algeria .
But their was one impediment to this---the French who had settled in Algeria who formed a hefty 10 percent of Algeria's population and who believed in the slogan Algeria Francaise , meaning Algeria is France....
And they resolved to kill De Gaulle , the president who dared to think of giving freedom to Algeria .
After numerous attempts to kill De Gaulle ( and here the movie begins ) , they decided to hire a contract killer---a man who for a hefty sum of money would kill Charles De Gaulle......
......And since its a Frederick Forsythe novel , but naturally its an englishman who is chosen......
......And what an englishman......
All blond and blue eyed and lean and fit ---one wonders why he chose to be a contract killer and not an actor or model.....oh I forgot that he IS an actor just playing the role of a contract killer for a movie
....And he is a true professional.....a man on a mission.....
And when he takes up a job he acts like a man possessed......
But the moolah he demands is so much that the organisation that has hired him has to robs banks and jewellery stores and other places to get the required money---thus alerting the French govt to the fact that they are planning something big....
.....And what could be more big in this political atmosphere that the assassination of De Gaulle......
So the govt begins its hunt for the potential killer.....
But thats hardly going to deter our man on a mission---who uses the code name JACKAL.....
He uses various tricks to get multiple passports including stealing the passport of one man in broad daylight , and then kills the man who made the passports for him for daring to blackmail him---no one blackmails the jackal without incurring his wrath ( mind it !! )
And the jackal gets a telescopic gun made for him that can fit in the pipe of a car or the walking stick of a handicapped person....and finetunes it himself by spending hours in practice in the jungle.....
And he is a master of changing his disguise and his appearance like a chameleon would do.....
And using these disguises he crosses borders of nations with ease fooling guards and border security.....
.....And when the police recognise his car he just changes its colour by spraypainting it himself in the woods on his way to Paris......
Both women and gay men swoon on his chiselled features....
But the jackal has not come for fun and games and he has to kill them all to cover his tracks---leaving a pile of dead bodies behind him along the way.....
One word about the killings though---the violence is only hinted at and aficionados of slambang action may pause to frown....there are no brutal fights or bloodcurdling screams in the movie.....the action is all cerebral and the movie is a cerebral thriller.....
But the jackal has not contended for one man---a French police officer who hides a razorsharp brain behind his affable nature ; and who is on his tracks , sometimes missing to catch the jackal by inches....
The jackal is saved in these situations because the organisation he works for has a mole among the very persons the police officer reports to---and who informs the jackal of the police's every move.....
So the game of cat and mouse continues....
But the big question is---will the jackal succeed in his mission , or will the police be able to stop him ?
That can be answered only on liberation day , when De Gaulle will come to witness a parade in the capital city .
And only if the jackal manages to kill the president on the day will that day be known as the day of the jackal.....
So will it be known as that ??
Watch the movie for that.....
I found it a worthy watch......
The movie is based on the classic novel of the same name by Frederick Forsythe ; and mind you , the novel is one of the great thriller novels of all time . The movie is of course an abridged version of the novel .
The plot is placed ten years earlier than the movie , and the year is 1962---exactly fifty years ago .
That year Algeria was liberated from French colonial rule . To give some of the history behind the plot , the French didnt leave Algeria without a fight . In fact it was a bloody fight . When the Algerians revolted against the French , the French used brutal torture to quell the rebellion in what was known as the battle of Algiers ( search google for that ). But this aroused international sympathy for the Algerian cause and when world war hero Charles De Gaulle was elected as president of France he announced that he was going to give independence to Algeria .
But their was one impediment to this---the French who had settled in Algeria who formed a hefty 10 percent of Algeria's population and who believed in the slogan Algeria Francaise , meaning Algeria is France....
And they resolved to kill De Gaulle , the president who dared to think of giving freedom to Algeria .
After numerous attempts to kill De Gaulle ( and here the movie begins ) , they decided to hire a contract killer---a man who for a hefty sum of money would kill Charles De Gaulle......
......And since its a Frederick Forsythe novel , but naturally its an englishman who is chosen......
......And what an englishman......
All blond and blue eyed and lean and fit ---one wonders why he chose to be a contract killer and not an actor or model.....oh I forgot that he IS an actor just playing the role of a contract killer for a movie
....And he is a true professional.....a man on a mission.....
And when he takes up a job he acts like a man possessed......
But the moolah he demands is so much that the organisation that has hired him has to robs banks and jewellery stores and other places to get the required money---thus alerting the French govt to the fact that they are planning something big....
.....And what could be more big in this political atmosphere that the assassination of De Gaulle......
So the govt begins its hunt for the potential killer.....
But thats hardly going to deter our man on a mission---who uses the code name JACKAL.....
He uses various tricks to get multiple passports including stealing the passport of one man in broad daylight , and then kills the man who made the passports for him for daring to blackmail him---no one blackmails the jackal without incurring his wrath ( mind it !! )
And the jackal gets a telescopic gun made for him that can fit in the pipe of a car or the walking stick of a handicapped person....and finetunes it himself by spending hours in practice in the jungle.....
And he is a master of changing his disguise and his appearance like a chameleon would do.....
And using these disguises he crosses borders of nations with ease fooling guards and border security.....
.....And when the police recognise his car he just changes its colour by spraypainting it himself in the woods on his way to Paris......
Both women and gay men swoon on his chiselled features....
But the jackal has not come for fun and games and he has to kill them all to cover his tracks---leaving a pile of dead bodies behind him along the way.....
One word about the killings though---the violence is only hinted at and aficionados of slambang action may pause to frown....there are no brutal fights or bloodcurdling screams in the movie.....the action is all cerebral and the movie is a cerebral thriller.....
But the jackal has not contended for one man---a French police officer who hides a razorsharp brain behind his affable nature ; and who is on his tracks , sometimes missing to catch the jackal by inches....
The jackal is saved in these situations because the organisation he works for has a mole among the very persons the police officer reports to---and who informs the jackal of the police's every move.....
So the game of cat and mouse continues....
But the big question is---will the jackal succeed in his mission , or will the police be able to stop him ?
That can be answered only on liberation day , when De Gaulle will come to witness a parade in the capital city .
And only if the jackal manages to kill the president on the day will that day be known as the day of the jackal.....
So will it be known as that ??
Watch the movie for that.....
I found it a worthy watch......
