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Coup de tête

Coup de tête

Movie · 1979 · 16 people

Francis Veber scripted Coup de tête (English title Hothead), a satirical French comedy-drama of 1979 that Jean-Jacques Annaud directed and that puts Veber's signature character, François Perrin, at its centre. Produced by Gaumont, the film runs about 89 minutes. It is the fifth film featuring Perrin and the first in which the character is not played by Pierre Richard.

Patrick Dewaere plays Perrin. In the story Perrin loses his place on the town football team and then his job, and is jailed after being accused of a crime he did not commit. When his old club runs short of players, he is let out of prison to play in a Coupe de France match, scores both goals of the victory and becomes the town hero, to the embarrassment of the local notables.

Besides Dewaere, the cast includes Jean Bouise, Michel Aumont, Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, Catherine Samie, Corinne Marchand, Dora Doll, Gérard Hernandez, Hubert Deschamps, Jacques Frantz and Janine Darcey. Jean Bouise won the César Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance.

DirectorJean-Jacques Annaud
Production companyGaumont

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Cast

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Janine Darcey Janine Darcey Actor · died at 76 Mrs. Lambert, secretary Robert Dalban Robert Dalban Actor · died at 83 Jeanjean Patrick Dewaere Jean Bouise Michel Aumont Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu Catherine Samie Corinne Marchand Dora Doll Dorothée Jemma France Dougnac François Dyrek Gérard Hernandez Hubert Deschamps Jacques Frantz Jacques Mathou Jacques Mathou Actor Toilet customer

Titles sharing this cast

Through different eyes

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

Coup de tête's boldest decision is taking Francis Veber's François Perrin away from the series' familiar face and handing him to Patrick Dewaere; here the character takes on a satirical edge and the series almost shifts genre. Annaud seems to use football less as sporting spectacle than as a tool for turning the town's balance of power upside down. Jean Bouise winning a César for this film can be read as a sign that the supporting characters are well written too. Even so, the stroke of luck that gets Perrin out of prison is, in my view, too convenient a script device; the satire's edge softens a little when the hero is rescued by such a tidy coincidence.

History & Society Lens Asks about the period, the social background and what the work reflects.

The film captures well how football becomes a field of power in a small town: the team, jobs and reputation are all concentrated in the hands of the same local notables. Perrin losing first his place on the team, then his job, and then being jailed for a crime he did not commit shows how easily that network can push an ordinary person out. His sudden turn into the town's hero after two goals satirises how short the crowd's memory is and how fragile reputation can be. Aimed at the provincial establishment of late-1970s France, the critique will still feel familiar to anyone thinking about clubs, local power and money today.

Family Viewer Asks whether the whole household can watch it; cares about humour and heart.

An appealing subject for a football-loving family, but this is not a children's film. The story has a man who loses his job and is wrongly jailed, and a satire that mocks the town's bigwigs; little ones won't get much out of it. It suits high-school-age teens and adults better. The idea of standing tall despite injustice is worth talking about, though.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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