I really don't know what to make of this. I was so looking forward to Clive Owen's appearance as Sam Spade in a "What happened after he left being a PI in the US and settled in a beautiful French Village"story. But for me, it didn't quite deliver. No Spoilers Here
Pros
- the scenery is lovely - beautiful countryside, great French mansions, and all set in the amazing, ancient village of Bouzoul which is built round a massive canyon.
- the vehicles used are lovely 1950's & 60's French cars
- the background music is great, with Brigitte Bardot, Francise Hardy and others
- the costumes are gorgeous and correct for the time [1960s]
- Clive Owen interprets the Spade role brilliantly imho
Cons
- it is quite violent. Ok, I know it is 'film noir', but it was a bit too graphic in parts [eyes down, concentrate on my knitting through these bits...]
- you really do need to concentrate on the English subtitles, as much of the dialogue is in French, although the spelling of some subtitling is execrable.
- some of the characters seemed too caricatured to be believable.
- there were just too many characters. I found it hard to follow the plot
- the story seemed to move slowly and there were lots of flashbacks. But I think if it had been faster, I'd never have kept up and the flashbacks were essential to understand the many characters.
- A better knowledge of the Algerian War of Independence would have helped. I couldn't follow all the references to SDECE, OAS, FLN, CIA, MI5 etc
- at the end, all the loose ends were tied up [just about] by a character who flew in just for the last 5 minutes. I found it a rather unsatisfying denouement.
Forget everything you remembered about Humphrey Bogart in the Maltese Falcon, which was set in 1930s America, and enjoy this for what it is - a thriller set in 1960s France, with the backdrop of the Algerian War of Independence. [De Gaulle, Kennedy and Queen Elizabeth all get a mention] After Spade, I found the teenage girl the most interesting, and the little boy was very sweet [but his character was a bit colourless]
See what you think - I know quite a few of you who follow the blog have a much better knowledge of the French language, and experience of the country than I do.
See what you think - I know quite a few of you who follow the blog have a much better knowledge of the French language, and experience of the country than I do.
I'd rate it trois étoiles et demie ! Monsieur Spade is currently on U&Drama,free to watch in the UK
That's on my list for sometime. I shall be coming to it afresh as I don't know anything of the back story.
ReplyDeleteBack story is relatively unimportant I think!
DeleteThere was a mention of this is our weekend tv magazine and I wondered what it was like. I might give it a go, although I will probably have to avert my eyes too.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in Coventry and my sister is the same age as Clive Owen. She always says that she doesn't know how he escaped her attention!
🤣🤣🤣
DeleteI can't cope with any amount of violence on TV anymore so will give it a miss! No matter how hard I try I can't unsee the bits I try not to see but catch a glimpse of.
ReplyDeleteYou have beautiful France all around you, so just enjoy the REAL food, wine and scenery and ignore this one. Have you ever been to Bouzoulsl? It looks spectacular
DeleteNo, never been, it's on our list of places in France that we haven't explored yet.
Delete👍🙂
DeleteLike Jean, I've seen too many things that I wish I hadn't!
ReplyDeleteI saw villages built by gorges in Portugal; many had apparently dry riverbeds, but would would fill with torrents when the snow melted.
I have never visited Portugal...
DeleteI enjoyed Blanca on the same channel, though it doesn’t glamorise Genoa.
ReplyDeleteI must check that out. Thank you
DeleteI do the Eyes down and concentrate on knitting or crochet thing during any violent telly scenes too!
ReplyDeleteAlison in Devon x
🧶 🧶 🧶
DeleteWill have to watch the programme. I visited the town many years ago - and couldn't remember its name so you've brought it all back. thank you.
ReplyDelete🙂👍
DeleteSubtitles can be hilariously wrong!
ReplyDeleteYes they can!
DeleteI always watch Eurovision with subtitles. It's hilarious.
ReplyDeleteI'm a big Clive Owen fan, but it looks a bit too noir for me. I've bookmarked the reference, and it looks beautiful, but kind of scary.
👍
DeleteWe didn't enjoy it at all and gave it nil points, in fact we gave up after 30 minutes. Bogart would be revolving in his grave at the desecration of his Sam Spade character. Xx
ReplyDeleteI had to separate the character completely from Bogarts portrayal
DeleteWe really enjoyed it
ReplyDeleteThat's good, there is clearly a widerange of responses, and I m pleased to read at least onepositive comment
DeleteI probably won't be watching this particular program. But, I do watch a fair amount of violence on TV - it's called the evening news. :)
ReplyDeleteTrue, but very sad. I long for peace in our world, as you do ❤️
DeleteI don't like violence so I'll probably avoid this!
ReplyDeleteNot your thing at all Kezzie!
DeleteThat sounds quite interesting even though you've only given it three and a half stars. I've just been binge watching A Taste for Murder and really enjoying it. Italy, a crime to solve and Italian cooking, what's not to love ... four and a half stars from me.
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