Maigret et l'écluse no.1
- Episode aired Oct 21, 1994
- 1h 26m
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
99
YOUR RATING
A rich entrepreneur is assaulted and Maigret must find out who did it and why.A rich entrepreneur is assaulted and Maigret must find out who did it and why.A rich entrepreneur is assaulted and Maigret must find out who did it and why.
Photos
Éric Berger
- Jean
- (as Eric Berger)
Storyline
Featured review
"Save the child!"
One doesn't read Simenon's Maigret mysteries simply for setup, epiphanous moment, and denouement. I would say the same is true of watching this series. Getting to and finding out "Who did it?" matters, yes, but only a bit. The best parts are the lingering moments in between. This is certainly true of "Lock No. 1," in which we experience as perfect a realization of a Maigret novel as I can imagine. It begins with an attempted murder of a businessman, but not just any businessman. This one, Ducrau (played by Jean Yanne), owns many of the nearby buildings and businesses. He is cold to his family and ruthless in his business dealings. He shows disdain for his wife and children (both grown) and for those who work for him. Still, there are soft spots, barely perceptible but they are there. By the end of the film there will be a suicide and a murder. But are these crimes related, and if not, then who is guilty of each crime?
The novel upon which this episode is based is a bit more dense than other Maigret mysteries, and I say that as an observation, not a criticism. Past incidents are alluded to, some described, but nothing is ever completely clear. Not all the loose threads are woven back together. As for the film, some things in the novel are left out and some past events are slightly modified, but this doesn't weaken the film. Melancholy pervades every scene. And speaking of scenes . . . There is one during which a man, sitting in a jail cell while lacing his shoes, tells of an incident 20 years prior, a story of the birth of a child. It is as beautifully acted a scene as I've ever seen in a TV movie. I won't forget it, and neither will you.
(By the way, In Simenon's Maigret stories, Maigret's assistants change with some being given more prominence than others in different books. Those assistants include Lucas, LaPointe, Torrence, and Janvier, among others. The filmmakers have decidedly clearly to compress the actions of multiple assistants into one or two in most episodes. I seldom have found this to be an issue. Compression of characters, dialogue, and timelines often occur-understandable so-in the transfer of novel to film.)
The novel upon which this episode is based is a bit more dense than other Maigret mysteries, and I say that as an observation, not a criticism. Past incidents are alluded to, some described, but nothing is ever completely clear. Not all the loose threads are woven back together. As for the film, some things in the novel are left out and some past events are slightly modified, but this doesn't weaken the film. Melancholy pervades every scene. And speaking of scenes . . . There is one during which a man, sitting in a jail cell while lacing his shoes, tells of an incident 20 years prior, a story of the birth of a child. It is as beautifully acted a scene as I've ever seen in a TV movie. I won't forget it, and neither will you.
(By the way, In Simenon's Maigret stories, Maigret's assistants change with some being given more prominence than others in different books. Those assistants include Lucas, LaPointe, Torrence, and Janvier, among others. The filmmakers have decidedly clearly to compress the actions of multiple assistants into one or two in most episodes. I seldom have found this to be an issue. Compression of characters, dialogue, and timelines often occur-understandable so-in the transfer of novel to film.)
helpful•10
- garywhalen
- Sep 4, 2023
Details
- Runtime1 hour 26 minutes
- Color
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