LA MALÉDICTION DE L'ESCARGOT (PHILIPPE CAROIT, ÉDITIONS ANNE CARRIÈRE)

[Favourite of the Month] A man who said he would never have a child discovers that he actually has one in this feelgood novel written by the multi-talented French thespian Philippe Caroit and published last november.

Hugo Talmont, a popular actor, is a self-proclaimed advocate of degrowth who doesn't want a child. Olivia, his girlfriend, just broke up with him because of her desire to have one. He tries to forget her on stage, with his best friend Mickey or in the Bois de Vincennes where he jogs. Hugo's relationship with his father, now in a care home, is a more profound reason to his refusal of paternity.

One evening, an enigmatic 18-year old teenager named Candice Montero asks Talmont for an autograph. When he meets her again some days later she tells him that she's his daughter. Her mother Lydia won't talk about it but Candice proves it's true. The problem is that Hugo can't remember Lydia Montero at all. Actor Philippe Caroit worked on stage for Robert Hossein, Jean-Claude Brialy or Jean-Luc Moreau. He played in movies helmed by Éric Rohmer or Alain Jessua. And television made him a familiar face since the 1980s.

Crime drama fans know him for Les Boeuf-carottes (1995-2001), four seasons of RIS Police scientifique (2006-2014) (1) and the semi-anthology Perfect Murders (Crimes parfaits), where he's one of the five detectives since 2017. Philippe Caroit also appeared in Joséphine, ange gardien, Magellan (Commissaire Magellan) or Murder in... (Meurtres à...). He speaks English, Italian, Spanish and even German, which allowed him to be one of the regulars of Borderland (Über die Grenze) for pubcaster Das Erste.

Philippe Caroit is also a playwright, a painter and a musician. La malédiction de l'escargot is his first novel and the author acknowledges a few similarities between the main character and himself. The great journey to happiness of Hugo and Candice is a genuine pleasure, especially in those difficult times. Hopefully Mr Caroit, a man of many talents, will write more novels and a producer will consider La malédiction de l'escargot for an adaptation.

(1) Between 2007 and 2010. 

https://anne-carriere.fr/livre/la-malediction-de-lescargot
http://www.philippecaroit.com/ 

See also:

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2020/12/borderland-uber-die-grenze-episodes-1-2.html
https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2020/11/perfect-murders-crimes-parfaits.html
https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2019/05/crimes-parfaits-pour-leternitea-coeur.html
https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2018/05/crimes-parfaits-episodes-5-6-france-3.html

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Thank you for your interest, your fidelity and your trust during these particularly strange times.

REVIEWS 

- Borderland (Über die Grenze) - Episodes 1 & 2 (Das Erste):

German feature-length crime drama co-starring the multi-talented Philippe Caroit.

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2020/12/borderland-uber-die-grenze-episodes-1-2.html

- Falk- Season 1 (Das Erste):

A warm-hearted German dramedy set in Düsseldorf.

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2020/11/falk-season-1-2018-das-erste.html

- Perfect Murders (Crimes parfaits) - Commandant Claire Moreno: Master du crime/Un coeur sombre (France 3):

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2020/11/perfect-murders-crimes-parfaits_19.html

- Perfect Murders (Crimes parfaits) - Commissaire divisionnaire Damien Roche: Légitime défiance/Une étoile est morte (France 3):

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2020/11/perfect-murders-crimes-parfaits.html

- Magellan (Commissaire Magellan) - Sang d'encre (France 3):

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2020/10/magellan-commissaire-magellan-sang.html

PERFECT MURDERS (CRIMES PARFAITS) - COMMISSAIRE DIVISIONNAIRE DAMIEN ROCHE: LÉGITIME DÉFIANCE/UNE ÉTOILE EST MORTE (FRANCE 3)

French pubcaster France 3's detective drama Crimes parfaits is a "semi-anthology" where a murderer known from the start thinks he/she has committed the perfect crime but a detective (different in every couple of episodes) proves him/her wrong. 

It's the concept of the inverted detective story, popularized by Columbo though created in literature many years before the famous lieutenant. Five sleuths rotate in 20+ episodes since 2017 and Crimes parfaits is now available in the United States as Perfect Murders, thanks to SVOD service MHZ Choice.

The bottom line: Damien Roche, Renaissance man.

 

Philippe Caroit (R.I.S. Police scientifique, Les boeuf-carottes) is back as the falsely naive and slightly caustic Commissaire divisionnaire Damien Roche under the sun of the south of France. Garance Thenault returns as Lieutenant Gaëlle Mareski, a former soldier. In Légitime défiance, bestselling novelist Irène Delaune kills publisher Gérard Vannier in an apparent act of self-defence against an assault in front of a witness. Michel Laville, the renowned mathematician of Une étoile est morte, sends the young Delphine Leroy to death in a particularly sly way. The divisionnaire knows how to prepare a cappuccino. He's an expert in roses and speaks Italian. Roche even plays piano and he's good in mathematics.

 

Philippe Caroit delivers his customary brilliance in those episodes which remain pleasant enough despite a handful of bad dialogues, a couple of cliches and a format hampered by the 52-minute duration. Incidentally, the actor can really play the piano and he speaks italian. As well as English, Spanish and even German (he's one of the regulars of Über die Grenze for Das Erste (1)). "Commissaire divisionnaire Damien Roche" would be a worthy successor to Commissaire Magellan, made by the same people from Jean Luc Azoulay's JLA Groupe. Written by Céline Guyot and Martin Guyot (Mongeville, Magellan, Femmes de loi). Directed by François Guérin.

 

Astrid Veillon (Tandem) as Irène Delaune, Laurence Bréheret (Françoise Louret) and Laurent Olmedo (R.I.S. Police scientifique) as Gérard Vannier are the guest stars of Légitime défiance. Guillaume Cramoisan (Michel Laville), Marie Barrouillet (Delphine Leroy), Thierry Desroses (Femmes de loi, P.J.) as Dr. Puel and Pascale Michaud (Viviane Leroy) are the guest stars of Une étoile est morte. In France, Thierry Desroses is well-known as a dubbing artist. He's the french voice of Samuel L. Jackson. Produced by Épisode Productions (JLA Groupe) with France Télévisions. Co-produced by BE-Films and RTBF (Télévision belge) with RTS Radio Télévision Suisse.

Bernard Paccalet exec produces. Produced by Richard Berkowitz. Romain Sussfeld is the production manager. Music composed and conducted by Frédéric Porte. Cinematography by Christophe Soffietti. Editing by Romain Namura. Theme music of Crimes parfaits by Jean-Pierre Taïeb. Main title design by Laurent Brett for Brett & Cie (Cherif, Cassandre, Transporter - The Series). Distributed by France tv distribution. Philippe Caroit also stars in Meurtre à Cayenne (from the Murder in... collection), which will be shown on France 3 this saturday. His first novel, La malédiction de l'escargot (published by Éditions Anne Carrière), was released last week.

 

(1) Coming in the United States next month on MHZ Choice as Borderland.

Not yet aired by France 3.

 

https://mhzchoiceblog.com/can-you-solve-the-mystery-of-perfect-murders/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rjRQp_hPH0 (Trailer)

https://anne-carriere.fr/livre/la-malediction-de-lescargot

 

See also:

 

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2019/05/crimes-parfaits-pour-leternitea-coeur.html

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2018/05/crimes-parfaits-episodes-5-6-france-3.html