Maigret chez les Flamands
- Episode aired Jan 5, 1992
- 1h 23m
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
146
YOUR RATING
Maigret is sent at the Border with Belgium to investigate on a shady affair.Maigret is sent at the Border with Belgium to investigate on a shady affair.Maigret is sent at the Border with Belgium to investigate on a shady affair.
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Storyline
Did you know
- GoofsWhen Maigret is first in his hotel room interviewing Joseph Peeters, a modern telephone can be heard ringing in the background.
Featured review
Maigret travels to Givet, a French-Belgian border town, after receiving a request to visit there and help the Peeters family deal with the town gossip and accusations of murder. A young woman has disappeared, and it is supposed that this young woman was the lover of Joseph Peeters and had born his son. But was she murdered? The townspeople seem to think so, and they've formed their judgements. Maigret, acting in an unofficial capacity, works with the local investigator in his attempt to unravel what happened. The family of the missing girl along with much of the townspeople assume Maigret is there to protect the Peeters family. After all, the Peeters are the rich-at least rich compared to most of those living in Givet-and the police protect the monied and propertied. Maigret shows no favorites, though, and asks questions and begins to surmise what did take place. You can see it in his eyes.
As with other episodes the casting here is excellent. Alexandre Vandernoot's portrayal of Anna Peeters is spot on. Ms. Vandermoot is quite striking but, correctly, never looks as pretty here as she the actress really is. (Watch her in an episode of "Highlander" and you'll see what I mean.) Gerard Darier provides the perfect Marchere, the local investigator who is clearly out of his league when working with Maigret. Throughout, the film captures the book, nothing is padded, and nothing is overly prolonged. Lingering moments, rambling conversations, and the clanking of glasses all help in revealing the story of a missing girl and the eventual revelation of what happened to her and why.
With this episode I was most anxious to see the ending. Having read the book (twice) I knew "what happened" but this one, as with some of the other Simenon Maigret stories, has an ambiguous ending. As I said, you'll know what happened-the who did it thing-and you'll know how and why, but the conclusion of the book then goes where you don't expect it to go. How might this be filmed without adding an additional 10 - 15 minutes, I wondered. I must say, the script and director pull it off with a simple scene of a moment or two at a train station. I so enjoy a film that captures not just the plot but more importantly in the case of Simenon, the atmosphere, the very feel, of the novel.
(And an aside: Some reviewers of this episode and others fret over Maigret's Paris-based assistants not appearing. Well, they're not in the book upon which this episode is based, so why would anyone expect to see them here.)
As with other episodes the casting here is excellent. Alexandre Vandernoot's portrayal of Anna Peeters is spot on. Ms. Vandermoot is quite striking but, correctly, never looks as pretty here as she the actress really is. (Watch her in an episode of "Highlander" and you'll see what I mean.) Gerard Darier provides the perfect Marchere, the local investigator who is clearly out of his league when working with Maigret. Throughout, the film captures the book, nothing is padded, and nothing is overly prolonged. Lingering moments, rambling conversations, and the clanking of glasses all help in revealing the story of a missing girl and the eventual revelation of what happened to her and why.
With this episode I was most anxious to see the ending. Having read the book (twice) I knew "what happened" but this one, as with some of the other Simenon Maigret stories, has an ambiguous ending. As I said, you'll know what happened-the who did it thing-and you'll know how and why, but the conclusion of the book then goes where you don't expect it to go. How might this be filmed without adding an additional 10 - 15 minutes, I wondered. I must say, the script and director pull it off with a simple scene of a moment or two at a train station. I so enjoy a film that captures not just the plot but more importantly in the case of Simenon, the atmosphere, the very feel, of the novel.
(And an aside: Some reviewers of this episode and others fret over Maigret's Paris-based assistants not appearing. Well, they're not in the book upon which this episode is based, so why would anyone expect to see them here.)
Helpful•40
- garywhalen
- Aug 19, 2023
- Permalink
Details
- Runtime1 hour 23 minutes
- Color
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