History Film / ThePassenger1975

No relation to [[Film/ThePassenger2023 Carter Smith film]].

This film depicts a disaffected television journalist David Locke who working in Africa, implied to be Chad, meets a certain David Robertson, a man of obscure occupations but is later revealed to be an ArmsDealer providing weapons to rebels. When the latter dies Locke assumes his identity, and exchanges his with his. This means that for the rest of the world, David Locke the Reporter is dead, while David Robertson still lives and is wanted by authorities to question him about the mysterious death of a reporter and journalist.

Despite his misgivings, such as the fact that Robertson is regularly paid lavish sums, he is regarded as a comrade by some rebels, and the fact that he's selling weapons, he starts embracing his role, simply because he doesn't want to go back to his old life. Locke travels in Europe, on his way he meets The Girl who becomes his loyal sidekick. Following on from the effects of the dead man, Locke goes to Spain. David's wife, meanwhile, burdened by guilt and grief, starts looking for "Robertson", while the African government who is opposed by the rebels Locke has now cast his lot with wants to hunt him down as well.

* JobTitle: ''Professione: Reporter'', the Italian title, lampshades this trop. David Locke is the titular reporter who drops his profession because he is fed up with his life.

This film depicts a disaffected television journalist David Locke who working in Africa, implied to be Chad, meets a certain David Robertson, a man of obscure occupations but is later revealed to be an ArmsDealer providing weapons to rebels. When the latter dies Locke assumes his identity, and exchanges his with his. This means that for the rest of the world, David Locke the Reporter is dead, while David Robinson still lives and is wanted by authorities to question him about the mysterious death of a reporter and journalist.

Despite his misgivings, such as the fact that Robinson is regularly paid lavish sums, he is regarded as a comrade by some rebels, and the fact that he's selling weapons, he starts embracing his role, simply because he doesn't want to go back to his old life. Locke travels in Europe, on his way he meets The Girl who becomes his loyal sidekick. Following on from the effects of the dead man, Locke goes to Spain. David's wife meanwhile burdened by guilt and grief starts looking for "Robinson" while the African government who is opposed by the rebels Locke has now cast his lot with, wants to hunt him down as well.

* EpicTrackingShot: The penultimate shot in the film is a classical example of that. This famous shot includes the camera virtually passing through the bars on the windows from inside the room in the outside.
* FakingTheDead: What Jack Nicholson's character does when a man named Robertson whom he incidentally met in one African country dies.

* JobTitle: Professione: Reporter, the Italian title, lampshades this trop. David Locke is the titular reporter who drops his profession because he is fed up with his life.

* MeaningfulName: Locke is a famous English XVII-century philosopher.

* MoralLuck: Jack Nicholson's character decides he wants to leave his old life behind, and takes on the identity of an acquaintance who has just died. As it turns out, the acquaintance was an arms dealer running guns to rebel forces in north Africa, so that's what he starts doing. The overall point of the film seems to be a nihilistic one: it doesn't really matter what one does in life, and one shouldn't be bound by social roles or expectations. However, it's clear that the audience is supposed to sympathise with the rebels whom Nicholson's character is supporting. So while he appears not to care about the social consequences of his actions, he is still doing something good — or at least something not evil. It would be harder to see this character as heroic if he were running guns to neo-Nazis or the Taliban — even though he could just as easily have found himself doing just that!
* MostWritersAreWriters: Jack Nicholson's character is very obviously a reporter, a television-journalist and a documentary film-maker. The film Antonioni made before ''The Passenger'' was a documentary in Mao's UsefulNotes/{{China}} during the Cultural Revolution.

* ShootTheShaggyDog: The protagonist assumes the identity of a stranger, walks in his shoes for a couple of days and is then [[spoiler:shot]]. NoAntagonist, no CharacterDevelopment, no resolution.

Despite his misgivings, such as the fact that Robinson is regularly payed lavish sums, he is regarded as a comrade by some rebels, and the fact that he's selling weapons, he starts embracing his role, simply because he doesn't want to go back to his old life. Locke travels in Europe, on his way he meets The Girl who becomes his loyal sidekick. Following on from the effects of the dead man, Locke goes to Spain. David's wife meanwhile burdened by guilt and grief starts looking for "Robinson" while the African government who is opposed by the rebels Locke has now cast his lot with, wants to hunt him down as well.

* YourCheatingHeart: Locke's wife in London cheats on him, That makes her conscience sore. She tries to get in touch with Robertson not knowing that now Locke lives under his name.

* ShaggyDogStory: The protagonist assumes the identity of a stranger, walks in his shoes for a couple of days and is then [[spoiler:shot]]. NoAntagonist, no CharacterDevelopment, no resolution.

-> '''The Girl''': "People disappear everyday..."\\
'''David Locke''': "...every time you leave the room."

* YourCheatingHeart: Locke's wife in London cheats on him, That makes her conscience sore. She tries to get in touch with Robertson not knowing that now Locke lives under his name.

* ShaggyDogStory: The protagonist assumes the identity of a stranger, walks in his shoes for a couple of days and is then [[spoiler:shot]]. NoAntagonist, no CharacterDevelopment, no climax.

* ShaggyDogStory: The protagonist assumes the identity of a stranger, walks in his shoes for a couple of days and is then [[spoiler:shot]]. NoAntagonist, CharacterDevelopment, no climax.

* {{Sidekick}}: The Girl to David