MADRID, Spain.- The charismatic French actor Jean-Paul Belmondo, whose films have been enjoyed by Cuban moviegoers, as river man, filmed on the island in the year 2000 amazondirected by Philippe de Broca and shot in Trinidad, Cienfuegos, Matanzas and Old Havana.
In amazonwhich was initially going to be called Shooting Star, A man on the run from justice in a tropical jungle discovers a ten-year-old girl named Lulu in a strange spaceship. And Margot, tasked with rescuing her from her, forces him to help her. Also involved in the film were Cuban actors Jackie de la Nuez, Fernando Hechavarria and Héctor Echemendía, and costume designer Liz Álvarez Martí.
Jean-Paul Belmondo, son of the sculptor Paul Belmondo, whose statues adorn Parisian parks, was born on April 9, 1933. He became an amateur boxer and after passing through provincial theaters, became one of the leading figures in the French cultural movement. known as the nouvelle vague (new wave), after his participation in the film À bout de soufflé, by Jean-Luc Godard.
He oriented his career in action and humor films where he personally carried out the risk scenes. He shot under the direction of great French directors. Many of the film productions in which he worked have become classics in that country, such as the aforementioned the river man (1964), Breathless (1960) and borsalino (1970).
The “friendliest ugly in French cinema”, as some described him, died on September 6, 2021 at the age of 88. He had participated in 80 films. Although, paradoxically, he did not obtain many official recognitions, he was the 1989 César Award Winner for Best Actor, for the film the empire of the lion (1988), but turned it down; decorated in 2007 with the Legion of Honor, in 2016 he received the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival.
