CAPITAINE MARLEAU: LA NUIT DE LA LUNE ROUSSE (FRANCE 3)

[Spoiler-Free] A nightly intrusion against the construction of a golf course near an animal park ends up with the death of one of the protesters, but also of a security guard. Capitaine Marleau, of the Gendarmerie, investigates.

Jeanne Dewaere, the park manager, tries to help her young protégé Manon Bechet, involved in the tragic events. Things get complicated when the businessman behind the golf project is found dead in a rather embarrassing posture.

« Miroir, mon beau miroir. Quelle est la plus moche de toute la gendarmerie? » 

The hugely popular French crime drama Capitaine Marleau returns next tuesday on pubcaster France 3 with the brilliant fifth episode En trompe l'oeil, aired six months ago by RTS Un. Yesterday, the Swiss channel aired La Nuit de la Lune Rousse, the equally brilliant sixth Marleau, directed by Josée Dayan and written by actress, scriptwriter and novelist Sylvie Granotier with novelist/scriptwriter Elsa Marpeau (who's also the series creator) The amazing Corinne Masiero, revealed by Louise Wimmer in 2012, is magnificent as Capitaine Marleau (no first-name). With Dayan, Marpeau, producer Gaspard de Chavagnac and excellent writers, she has built France's equivalent of Columbo.

« Les couples en fusion c'est comme le jazz fusion. Ca me fait chier. »

After the chabrolesque En trompe l'oeil with Pierre Arditi (Blood of the Vine) in the Île-de-France region, the colourful and shrewd Marleau is in the beautiful Alsace again (« Moi j'aime bien l'Alsace, c'est pour ça que je reviens souvent. ») amongst old friends. Aymeric Demarigny plays Brigadier Brière for the third time, after Les mystères de la foi and Brouillard en Thalasso. Marius Colucci (Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie) is back as Oscar Langevin, the sympathetic pathologist and latinist of Le domaine des soeurs Meyer. Oscar teams up with Leopold Salaun, the Falstaffian pathologist of Capitaine Marleau: Philippe Muir (the series pilot) played by Belgian actor and French television legend Jean-Claude Drouot.

« Les liaisons dangereuses, ça entretient la passion. Comme disait Malkovich... ou Werther, je ne sais plus. »

Marleau delivers those great lines which contribute to her popularity, sing some Chantal Goya, crosses paths with G.I.G.N. and does her usual social commentary: there are references to Samsonite, Goodyear, Edward Snowden and high-risk loans. Sandrine Bonnaire guest stars as Jeanne Dewaere (hence a « Vous avez un petit côté débonnaire, vous. On vous l'a déjà dit? » ), a good-hearted woman who hides her past. The rest of the splendid cast includes Manuel Blanc (Alain Peras), Alain Fromager (Michel Chalard), Vincent Primault (Gabriel), Louison Bergman (Manon Bechet), Céline Samie of the Comédie-Française  (Emilie Guingand), etc.

Produced by Josée Dayan and Gaspard de Chavagnac for Passionfilms and Gaspard & Co. Music by Catherine Lara and Cyrille Lehn. Filmed between October and November 2016 in Alsace. The animal park is actually the parc animalier of Sainte-Croix. Produced with the support of Strasbourg Eurométropole and Région Grand-Est. In September 2016, the fourth episode of Capitaine Marleau caught 4.608.000 viewers (20%). One week later, a repeat of the pilot caught 4.533.000 viewers (19.6%).

http://www.republicain-lorrain.fr/edition-de-sarrebourg-chateau-salins/2016/10/19/capitaine-marleau-les-cameras-face-aux-loups-du-parc-animalier-de-sainte-croix

See also:

http://tattard2.blogspot.fr/2016/09/capitaine-marleau-en-trompe-loeil.html
(En trompe l'oeil)

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).