Criminal Activities: Reading & Watching

My latest review on Euro Crime is for James Wolff's first novel "Beside The Syrian Sea". It's set in the Middle East and involves a son's attempts to get his father, an ISIS hostage, released from captivity. The father is an earnestly moral cleric and the son is a desperately introverted intelligence worker finding himself suddenly without the boundaries he has so carefully maintained and quite literally in a new land.
I was gripped by it, not just by plot and thrill but by  its characters and their relationships. I also somehow found it "terribly British" ... in the nicest possible way. Read the review in full detail here at Euro Crime.

Meanwhile, as they say, there has been much to watch on telly. I haven't really enjoyed Season 2 of the Belgian thriller "Salamander" but I still watched it through. Nor, I must say, am I enamoured of Belgian thriller "Rough Justice" either. But still watching. Perhaps my dissatisfaction lies in the completely straight-faced, lugubrious main characters of each series? My Belgian favourite? (Sounds like a variety of iris, don't it.) When it comes to Belgian thrillers on British screens over the last 12 months - my highlight remains Season One of "Professor T". Not at all to everybody's taste, (sigh) it was to mine. The Old Man gave up on its fantasy musical breaks and opted for the washing up, but I was hooked. Although ... I realise now ... it carries the motif of straight-faced Belgian leads to bizarre extremes with its emotionally locked-in, germ-obsessive, forensic genius that is Prof T. Yes I know there have been other series predicated on emotionally damaged, clever-clogs analysts - but they don't have fantasy musical numbers! End of.

Aah! Not Belgian I know - but I forgot  season Four of "The Bridge". Now there's another "straight-faced" lead  - but no fantasy musical numbers - yet.
Am I watching? Of course I am.

Animated Discussions: Stromae's Carmen - Music Video by Sylvain Chomet

A dark look at that little bluebird.
From Belleville Rendezvous's Sylvain Chomet for Belgian rapper/songwriter Stromae.



(I lurve Belleville Rendezvous aka The Triplets of Belleville).

Edit: Have just discovered that Cornwall based animation company Spider Eye also had a hand in this. Brilliant.)

Grey Doll Gathers Her Criminal Telly Thoughts

So how have you got on with recent euro-telly crime dramas.... Particularly those for the BBC4 subtitled slot on Saturday nights? I am a bit disappointed that BBC4 has decided simply to re-broadcast "Inspector Montalbano" in that particular slot ... starting at "Numero Uno" of what is a lo-o-ong multi-series. I don't know how many they are planning to show.....
I have to say that it has not been one of my favourite series... although I know that the novels by Andrea Camilleri are much loved.

I did however enjoy the"Inspect De Luca"trilogy - set in Fascist Italy around World War 2 and based on the books by Carlo Lucarelli. Though it has to be said that it too featured a high incidence of luscious ladies falling out of their frocks.... Maybe a higher incidence than even Inspector Montalbano is privileged to witness.

I very much enjoyed the look and feel of  the Welsh series - "Hinterland". I am a sucker for "the look" ... and the photography and landscape are key in these films. The plots, acting and atmosphere aren't half bad either. Moody, dark stuff. Who knew Wales be Scandi-Noir?

Looking further back there was the Belgian thriller "Salamander" ... which I started by enjoying. It had pace, plot and paranoia... but towards the end it seemed to fall into the absurd. I was a bit disappointed there.

Meanwhile on BBC1... there was 1950s Irish-set "Quirke", based on the books by John Banham writing as Benjamin Black. With the first episode I got a bit distracted by the elaborately worked "period" setting and costume dressing. Moi, being so old, I kept staring around the rooms going "That lamp? Then? Surely not..." Instead of getting into the drama of the thing. But the second and third episodes had me... and I would look for more I think. I haven't read the books. I should, shouldn't I.

In The Dark...

Ooh-er, there we be this weekend... watching the ultimate phase of the excellently dark, sweary and blood-spattered "In Bruges" on the old DVD player... when the brilliant Brendon Gleeson makes an explosive point and POOF the lights go out!
Darkness  and powerlessness abounds. Followed by an early night, after listening to the transistor radio for an hour or so, then sprinting to catch the fading heat of the electric blanket.
We break out  next morning into the fully-powered nearest town to purchase a kettle! (Heating water in saucepans be a pain we do find.) Thanks be for the gas hob.
In all there be nearly 24 hours of powerlessness. Lots of torches and candles. But power is restored in time for this week's episodes of BBC4's latest subtitled thriller "Salamander". In fact Belgian-themed crime thrillers are sustained after a slight interruption.
How are you getting on with "Salamander"? I like it fine... another outsider/conspiracy fest. What a lot of bird song in the background. You noticed? And The Old Man be coping with it.... except when he thinks it is set in Denmark. He be very pleased it is in 45 minute episodes. But then he has to wriggle a lot.

Animated Discussions: A Softer Touch - "Ernest & Celestine"

Sometimes I like to watch animation of a softer kind. And so it is with hand-drawn "Ernest & Celestine".... a French/Belgian production from the same animation team as the hysterical stop-motion gem "A Town Called Panic". (See my Post about "..Panic..")

"Ernest & Celestine" is based on a Belgian children's book series about a bear (Ernest) and a mouse (Celestine). Never the twain should meet and co-exist but they do... and in this film they fight to stay together despite the horror of their respective communities.

So?  I do like a bit of heart-warming some time.... eh-hem... so what's embarrassing about that?

The screenplay and dialogue is by Daniel Pennac.
Pennac is a French writer that I do already like for his series of off-beat crime thrillers set in the Belleville district of Paris - The Malaussene Saga - which includes (in English translation)... The Scapegoat, The Fairy Gunmother and Write to Kill.
I see there is another book translation available - "Monsieur Malausenne". I'm off to find if I can get hold of that still... tout suite.

Animated Discussions: Ernest & Celestine - Trailer

Mrs D Admits Her Ignorance

We do listen today to the first episode of  Mark Lawson's series of 15 minute programmes on European crime fiction on BBC Radio4 called "Foreign Bodies" as mentioned in my previous post. This episode looks at Christie's "Poirot" and Simenon's "Maigret".

Now I did make that Mrs D stand in the corner wearing a dunce's cap. For she tells me that despite reading a lot of crime fiction and sometimes writing about it.... she have never (pregnant pause) read a Poirot or a Simenon. (Gasp!) I tell her she be admitting ignorance then.

But she remains defiant, I do hear her muttering into the corner that she does not want to read Agatha Christie. After some silence, I do hear her say that maybe she should read some Simenon.

Ha-ha. I think so too.

Animated Discussions: A Town Called Panic

Oooh. Lookin forward to Film Four's showing of "A Town Called Panic" this coming Wednesday 22nd June at 10.40pm.

This is a feature length spin-off from the Belgian children's TV series of the same name (distributed by Aardman). And it's animated using plastic models "picked up at fleamarkets": Cowboy, Indian, and Horse... and stopmotion animation.

I thought it reminded me of the "Cow, Cyclist & Pirate" adverts for Cravendale Milk, which ran from 2007. And so it might - the Cravendale adverts being animated by the same Belgian team, Pic Pic and Andre, that originated the "Town..." TV series.
Sadly, this particular series of adverts has now ended, and has been replaced by the (not for me so successful) "Cats with Thumbs" advert.

Can't resist showing a Vimeo trailer. So here it is.
Enjoy!

A Town Called Panic (Trailer) from filmswelike on Vimeo.

Graphic Passions: The Wrong Place

Got a new graphic novel today.

It's "The Wrong Place" by Belgian cartoonist and illustrator Brecht Evens.

That excellent blog: Drawn (..."your daily source of inspiration for illustration, animation, cartooning, and comic art"...).listed it as a 2010 favourite. And I decided I'd like to see it for real.

Its story centres on the magnetic Robbie, a Mr Cool, a "charismatic lothario" captivating the attention of men and women alike; his relationship with his childhood friend Gary (Mr Grey and so very not Mr. Cool); and the picaresque party night life of their city.

But Evens' narrative is made up of sumptuous watercolour compositions. The pages are layered jewels. OK I hoovered up the story in an afternoon...

But I shall be looking at the pages themselves for a lot longer.

If you want to get a taste of Evens' style take a look at his own blog "Brechtnieuws".