France 3's police station welcomes a new sleuth and it's Stéphane Bern.
The crime dramas of
France 3 are a fully-fledged genre,
recognizable from the regional locations, postcard drone shots and
even actors jumping from one to another. The pubcaster's long string of
hits includes series like the ratings juggernaut
Capitaine Marleau,
Mongeville,
Commissaire Magellan or
Cassandre. But also collections like
Crimes parfaits,
Crime à and
Meurtres à.... Launched in 2013 and set in a different town/region each time,
Meurtres à... is the gaullic answer to Germany's
Tatort.
One of its distinctive features is the occasional casting of a "non-actor" personality from the
France Télévisions group in one of the main roles. After
Michel Cymes and
Claire Chazal, it's the turn of
Stéphane Bern. Television presenter, radio host and journalist, Bern is famous in France for his encyclopedic knowledge of nobility and royal families, his passion for History and his involvement in heritage preservation. His programme
Secrets d'Histoire is a favourite of
France 2's viewers. He appeared in a handful of films and a few TV series or movies, mostly as himself. Except that the bar is higher this time: in
Meurtres en Lorraine, Stéphane Bern stars as
Lieutenant Nicolas Muller of the Gendarmerie.
A corpse wrapped in paragliding cloth is discovered inside the
Citadel of Bitche, in the north-east of France. Lieutenant Muller investigates with his deputy,
Adjudant Patrick Joly, and a newly arrived trainee,
Gendarme stagiaire Lola Paoli. Muller is intrigued by a crystal chess piece found near the body. He goes with Lola, who happens to be the daughter of pathologist
Patricia Paoli, to the
Cristallerie Muller in order to get information. This crystal factory belongs to his father
Hervé, whom he's not in good terms, and is managed by his younger sister
Florence. The latest case of Nicolas quickly becomes very personal.
The announcement that Stéphane Bern would play the lead role in a
Meurtres à... raised astonishment if not perplexity, given a public image often confused with his puppet in
Les Guignols de l'info (the now defunct French equivalent of
Spitting Image). Though some scenes are a tad ambitious for someone who's not an actor, the performance of Bern is rather honourable. His presence is obliously the focus of the attention of both viewers and critics in an otherwise generic drama from France 3 with all the required clichés. At least Stéphane Bern, the legendary
Féodor Atkine as
Hervé Muller and a decent cast make it more watchable than the irritating
Alexandra Ehle (on the same channel).
Also starring
Lilly Fleur-Pointeaux (
Lola),
Joffrey Platel (Patrick Joly),
Catherine Demaiffe (Florence Muller),
Francis Renaud (
Jean-Paul Dubois),
Marie Matheron (Patricia Paoli),
Céline Jorrion (
Camille Dubois),
Hervé Sogne (
Pascal Dubois),
Yannig Samot (
Marc Saint-Léger),
Rafaël Rajabian (
Jérémy),
Manuel Gélin, etc. Written by
Killian Denis and
Nicolas Jones-Gorlin. Directed by
René Manzor (
Highlander: The Series,
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles). Produced by
Morgane Production.
Co-produced by
AT-production with
R.T.B.F. (Télévision belge). With the participation of France Télévisions,
TV5 Monde,
RTS Radio Télévision Suisse and
13ème Rue.
Exec produced by
Gilles Daniel. Produced by
Gérard Pont,
Gérard Lacroix and
Sylvain Plantard.
Arnauld de Battice and
Caroline de Borchgrave are the associate producers. Filmed with the support of
Région Grand-Est,
la Ville de Nancy and
Métropole du Grand Nancy. Music by
Christophe La Pinta. Editing by
Renaud Ziegler. Cinematography by
Manuel Teran. Distributed by
Film & Picture TV distribution. Belgian channel
La Une aired
Meurtres en Lorraine last month.
https://www.programme-tv.net/news/series-tv/211136-stephane-bern-acteur-dans-meurtres-en-lorraine-ma-presence-dans-cette-fiction-va-deranger/
https://www.tourisme-paysdebitche.fr/decouvertes11/sites-incontournables.html?titre=citadel-of-bitche&fiche=853140105 (In English)
