Le Corps de mon ennemi

Jean Paul Belmondo returns to his narrow-minded industrialist town after seven years of wrongful imprisonment for the murder of a prostitute and a football star. He sets out to prove his innocence; recounting his life in fragmented flash backs, in manner akin to works such as 'The Limey' or 'Memento', where the hero pieces together the puzzle of a past injustice.

A second collaboration between Belmodo and director, Henri Verneuil, the pair would enjoy a long and fruitful relationship on screen, delivering some of the most slick and entertaining films across two decades.

A certified icon of the French New Wave, 'Le Corps De Mon Ennemi' marked a step away from Belmodo’s previous, physical roles. With Belmondo portraying the same character in two time frames across seven years, Verneuil was reluctant to have his star spend all his time engaged in make-up and so employed a simple dramatic device, via a line of dialogue:
“…when you look back into your past, you see yourself as your are now, not as you were.”

A simple and effective motif that neatly encapsulates the back to basics nature of this scorching noir, which boasts yet another stellar performance, with the token charisma oozing through his character’s restraint, from the indubitable great of French cinema, monsieur Belmondo. Fellow icons Marie-France Pisier ('Love on the Run') and Bernard Blier ('Hotel du nord') provide adept support.