Le Jaguar is a 1996 French film directed by Francis Veber starring Jean Reno, Patrick Bruel, Harrison Lowe and Patricia Velásquez. A shaman from the South American rain forest visits Paris for a public relations campaign along with a French ethnologist. When the shaman's soul is apparently stolen, he enlists the help of a good-for-nothing named Perrin, with whom he spontaneously created a spiritual link.
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Plot
François Perrin is a gambler, anxious to escape the thugs who pursue him after he reneged on a bet. He stumbled upon Jean Campana, a French ethnologist and environmentalist who was raised in the Amazon jungle and his companion Wanu, a shaman who has left his remote home to help Campana campaign on the rain forest's behalf in Paris. When Wanu suddenly tweaks Perrin's nose and proclaims him to be the "chosen one", Perrin is naturally surprised.
He is more surprised when Wanu shows up in his lavish apartment that same night, drugs him and covers him with ritual markings, thereby creating a magical link between them. The next day Wanu suffers a heart attack that he interprets as the theft of his soul. He beckons Perrin to him and insists that he go to the jungle with Campana to find his soul, which has taken the form of a jaguar.
Unfortunately for Perrin, the dense jungle proves to be far more dangerous than any gambler's henchmen and comical chaos ensues as he struggles to survive.
Cast
Jean Reno as Jean Campana
Patrick Bruel as François Perrin
Harrison Lowe as Wanù
Patricia Velásquez as Maya
Danny Trejo as Kumare
Gil Birmingham as guard of Kumare
Roland Blanche as Moulin
François Perrot as Matelako
Francis Lemaire as Stevens
Jacques Curry as Olivier
Production
The film was shot over a three month period on location in Brazil and Venezuela.