The Jaguar

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 France for a public relations (PR) campaign. In a hotel's elevator in Paris he meets a French good-for-nothing named Perrin he is fascinated with. He follows Perrin to his flat and although Perrin is not very enthusiastic about so much interest in his person, he lets the shaman spend the night in his flat. After an official meeting on the next day being part of the PR campaign the shaman suffers from a heart attack. Hardly being able to speak and lying in a hospital bed he demands to see Perrin. The latter is not very interested in meeting the shaman again. However it looks like it is too late for animosities as the shaman and Perrin seem to be tied mentally somehow since they've met in the elevator. Le Jaguar is Francis Veber's throwback to 1950s-1960s on-location comedy adventures, meaning there is not much comedy and not much adventure but the casting and production values carry the viewer along regardless. Patrick Bruel needs to get out of Paris when his gambling debts are sold to East European gangsters, so agrees to go with Jean Reno's environmental activist to the Amazon to find a local chief's soul (long story) only to discover his real self in between being possessed by the spirit of the chief.