Narco

A 2004 French comedy-drama film directed by Tristan Aurouet and Gilles Lellouche. The protagonist, Gus (Guillaume Canet), suffers from narcolepsy, making his life extremely challenging as he continually loses jobs due to unexpected sleep attacks. During these episodes, Gus experiences vivid dreams that inspire him to create high-quality comic book art. His psychiatrist, Samuel Pupkin (Guillaume Gallienne), once aspired to become a comic book artist but chose the family profession of psychiatry due to a lack of talent. Upon discovering Gus's abilities, Pupkin, driven by greed and jealousy, devises a nefarious plan: he employs figure-skating assassins to steal Gus's work and pass it off as his own. The murder attempt fails, but Gus falls into a coma. Pupkin pays Gus's wife, Pamela (Zabou Breitman), and his best friend, Lenny Bar (Benoît Poelvoorde), who have begun an affair, for the comics and sells them to a failed comedian turned publisher. After awakening from the coma, Gus discovers that his narcolepsy has vanished but decides to feign the condition to uncover his wife and friend's betrayal and expose the theft of his work. The film also features Jean-Claude Van Damme portraying himself as an imaginary mentor to one of the characters. Ultimately, the truth is revealed: the publisher ends up in prison, where he finds success as a comedian; Pupkin goes insane and is confined to a psychiatric hospital; and Gus reconciles with his wife and finally secures stable employment.