CAPITAINE MARLEAU: CHAMBRE AVEC VUE (FRANCE 3)

Someone tries to murder Catherine Rougemont, ex-colonel of the Gendarmerie and owner of a small seaside hotel. Capitaine Marleau, who served under Rougemont 20 years ago, is convinced that Catherine knows the culprit. Except that her former superior won't talk.

Rougemont wants to protect women she hides in her establishment because they are victims of violence. But also her 16-year old grandson, whom she raised alone since the brutal death of his parents.

The bottom line: As long as Marleau avoids "Columbo as a ringmaster" stuff (1), everything will be OK.

Starring the extraordinary Corinne Masiero in the title role, France 3's crime drama Capitaine Marleau returns tomorrow. Its director and producer Josée Dayan  takes our favourite gendarme to northern France in this very good Chambre avec vue, written by Marc-Antoine Laurent and Jean-Marc Taba with series creator Elsa Marpeau (2). Capitaine Marleau conquered its ratings juggernaut status last year and could now afford anything. Thankfully, except for two "surreal" jokes and a couple of rather clumsy political comments, the episode demonstrates appropriate moderation and sensibility. Chambre avec vue manages to remind of Capitaine Marleau: Philippe Muir, the series pilot, thanks to the superb performances of guest stars Yolande Moreau (Catherine) and Patrick Bouchitey as Hugo Perez.

Rod Paradot, who won the César Award for Most Promising Actor in 2016 for his role in Standing Tall (La Tête haute, 2015), plays Catherine's grandson Gabriel. Cédric Le Maoût enters the club of Marleau's most memorable deputies as Adjudant Loïc Planchon. Also with Piérick Tournier (Julien Batz), Laure Josnin (Claire), Lucie Desclozeaux (Leïla), Margaux Vallé (Lisa Serelle), Thomas Baelde (Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie), Gérard Pinteau, etc. Produced by Josée Dayan and Gaspard de Chavagnac for Passionfilms and Gaspard & Co, with RTS Radio Télévision Suisse, and the participation of France Télévisions and Pictanovo (Witnesses, Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie). Filmed with the support of Région Hauts-de-France. Music by Catherine Lara and Cyrille Lehn.

(1) See Murder, Smoke and Shadows (1989).
(2) The trio wrote En trompe l'oeil, the brilliant fifth episode.

http://www.courrier-picard.fr/17524/article/2017-03-16/la-serie-policiere-capitaine-marleau-tournee-en-baie-de-somme
http://www.lavoixdunord.fr/220460/article/2017-09-19/le-nouvel-adjudant-du-capitaine-marleau-est-tourquennois 

CAPITAINE MARLEAU: EN TROMPE L'OEIL (FRANCE 3)

[Spoiler-Free] Elsa Floriot, an au pair girl who takes care of the son of famous crime novelist Gilles Garin, is murdered during a big party at the author's manor.

Called on the scene, Capitaine Marleau of the Gendarmerie meets Garin, who offers to put his "science of crime" at her service.

As the capitaine explores the manor, the entourage of the novelist provides to her and Adjudant Tahar further suspects. Marc Durieux, an unsuccessful composer of "musique concrète", is Gilles Garin's brother-in-law. Cédric Aurier is the private tutor of Alex, Garin's 10-year old son, and he aspires to become a novelist. Judith Garin is Gilles's wife but also her publisher. Both live in the memory of a tragedy which happened four years ago and she's convinced that her husband had an affair with Elsa.

"The master of crime fiction" displays the same consummate art of smoke screens and red herrings he uses in his novels. Marleau isn't fooled, even when he brings her a suspect on a plate: Corinne Vidal, his ultimate fangirl, who thinks she's Gilles Garin's recurring heroine Blanche Saint-Léger! Helmed by series director and producer Josée Dayan, En trompe l'oeil is the brilliant fifth episode of France 3's definitely popular crime drama Capitaine Marleau (1). It's penned by Marc-Antoine Laurent and Jean-Marc Taba (both wrote Visa pour l'enfer, an episode of Blood on the Docks) with Série Noire author and scriptwriter Elsa Marpeau. Marpeau is the Capitaine Marleau series creator.

Corinne Masiero shines as Capitaine Marleau (no first-name), an offbeat cop between Columbo (2), Vera and French comedian Coluche, alongside movie and stage legend Pierre Arditi as Garin. Since 2011 he's Benjamin Lebel, the wine expert detective of Blood of the Vine (Le sang de la vigne), another of the numerous French hit crime dramas of France 3. Aure Atika (The Night Manager) plays Garin's wife Judith. The writers have fun with tropes of the mystery/crime genre in an atmosphere half-Agatha Christie, half-Chabrol. Of course, they deliver those great dialogues which contribute to the popularity of Marleau.

Josée Dayan always gets the best of her cast. Michel Fau (Marc) and Cyrille Eldin (Cédric) works again together after the play Fleur de cactus in 2015. Sophie Quinton is Corinne, the schizoid Nancy Drew. Adjudant Tahar is performed by Kader Boukhanef. In a nod to her role in Navarro (1989-2006), Catherine Allegret plays Fanny Brun, who owns a hotel restaurant (3). Produced by Josée Dayan and Gaspard de Chavagnac for Passionfilms and Bel Ombre Films, with R.T.B.F. (Télévision belge), RTS Radio Télévision Suisse (which aired the episode this tuesday) and France Télévisions. Music by Catherine Lara and Cyrille Lehn. Filmed in April 2016, mainly in Tournan-en-Brie (Région Île-de-France). 

(1) 4.608.000 viewers (20%) for the fourth episode.
(2) An acknowledged source of inspiration of the character. There are regular references and nods to Columbo in Capitaine Marleau.
(3) French viewers will also recognize actor Nicolas Carpentier, well-known here for the Renault adverts.

http://www.leparisien.fr/tournan-en-brie-77220/capitaine-marleau-en-tournage-a-tournan-en-brie-pour-france-3-06-04-2016-5691349.php

[Update - September 16, 2016] France 3 has just axed Blood of the Vine (http://www.leparisien.fr/culture-loisirs/le-sang-de-la-vigne-va-tirer-sa-reverence-16-09-2016-6123989.php).

BLOOD ON THE DOCKS: VISA POUR L'ENFER (FRANCE 2)

Nicolas Vanot, an ER doctor from a well-off family, is found dead. He was tortured and shot in the neck. Later it's Victor Barnier, an ex-international reporter, who's discovered apparently drowned in the waters of the harbour.

Those two deaths lead to a case of human trafficking involving a Russian mobster.
 

Deux flics sur les docks (Blood on the Docks), the excellent French crime drama launched in 2011, is adapted from the Portsmouth based Joe Faraday novels by English crime fiction writer Graham Hurley. Le Havre police detectives Capitaine Richard Faraday (Jean-Marc Barr) and Capitaine Paul Winckler (Bruno Solo) returned last week on pubcaster France 2 for a fifth series of two feature-length episodes.

Directed by Edwin Baily, Visa pour l'enfer is an original story loosely based on Graham Hurley's work and written by Marc-Antoine Laurent with Jean-Marc Taba & Bernard Marié (Night Squad, Maigret). Winckler is worrying about Fabian (Liza Manili). She doesn't take Paul's concerns too well and asks Commissaire divisionnaire Dardenne (Mata Gabin) the permission to team up with Richard. Faraday finds out that his son Lulu (Jean-Marie Hall) knew Vanot, the first victim.

Bazza Swaty (Emmanuel Salinger) tries to play golf and he's basically Winckler's Huggy Bear in this episode. Visa pour l'enfer has a very good first hour with some quality material for the characters of Fabian, Lulu and Bill (Guillaume Viry). There's even a shootout scene. But the last half-hour loses momentum in spite of the great direction of Edwin Baily and a nice ending.

With Julien Boulenguiez as Bazza's henchman Jimmy, Michel Scotto Di Carlo (Michel), Xavier Schliwanski (Braquo) as Grigor Nevski, Aymeric Lecerf (Ange Tessardi), Laetitia Pembele Kandi (Leila Manouf), Corinne Belet (Pathologist), etc. This series was filmed from February to April 2015. Deux flics sur les docks is produced by Gétévé with France Télévisions and the support of Région Haute-Normandie. It is distributed by Zodiak Rights.

Jacques Salles and Christian Charret are the producers. Muriel Paradis exec produces. Music by Canadian composer Pierre-Philippe Côté. The song The Calling is from his Peter Henry Phillips project. Alex Arcoleo composed Antimatter, the collection's theme music. Title sequence designed by David Fernandes. Visa pour l'enfer caught 3.827.000 viewers (16.3 %) against a football match on TF1. The next series will be filmed between May and July 2016.

http://tattard2.blogspot.fr/2016/03/blood-on-docks-longue-distance-france-2.html (Longue distance)