Monsignor Renard

When I strolled into the beautiful French village of St. Valerie-sur-Somme as a tourist and saw a group of Nazis chatting on a street corner, I unfortunately did not know that this wonderful miniseries was being filmed. After seeing it on TV a year or so later I was so disappointed that I didn't wait and maybe get a chance to see John Thaw act, or some of the others of the fine cast (I did have a little chat with a "Nazi" extra, who was very friendly, very English and very hot in his woollen uniform in the French summer heat).

Great story about ordinary people in an ordinary little town during extraordinary times. It paints a realistic picture of that period, one in which not all French people were active in the Resistance and not all Germans -or even German soldiers- were bad people. There are shades of good and bad in every character in the series, as is the case in real life. That's what I liked most about this series, as well as the convincing period feel of it. And how nice to hear Germans actually speak German to each other! The English actors trying to pronounce french words and names sounded a bit awkward at times, but the solid acting made up for that. John Thaws performance as Monsignor Renard was great (sadly, the world lost a great actor when he passed away), but the less well-known actors that made up most of the rest of the cast were good too. Sadly only 4 episodes were made, I would have liked to see more of the village and it's people and the way they would have coped with the continuing war (since it was only the very beginning of 1941 when the story ended).

5 out of 5!

This is a very well written drama, beautifully acted with a fantastic cast set in authentic settings and must have been very expensive to produce. Why then did it fail to attract viewers and only run to four episodes. To my mind, the main failure was in allowing the English actors, playing French men and women, to speak with (presumably their own) English regional accents. While this was common in earlier films and series, here it jars with the otherwise laudable visual and plot-driven attempts at authenticity. Quite why this is so much of an issue is difficult to pinpoint, but it is very much akin to colour-blind casting and strains the credibility for viewers, particularly with only the Germans characters using their native language. It's other failing is it's music, which makes scenes of high drama overly mawkish. It is well worth watching, but deserved a far longer run.

After a twenty year absence, Monsignor Renard returns to his home village to take up the position vacated by his predecessor, no sooner has he arrived, The Germans occupy the village.

What an absolute gem of a series this is, first rate in every single aspect. A fascinating watch, think of what a series Allo Allo would have been, if it was made as a straight up drama.

The first and final episodes are both hugely gritty and dramatic, the middle two focus more on day to day life, as The French try to love alongside their Nazi invaders.

So much happens, you're made to consider the second world war from an entirely different perspective, easy to forget that this situation actually happened. We have love, hatred, we see collaborators and resistance.

Visually stunning, awesome sets, tremendous costumes, it looks so wonderfully authentic.

The acting is first rate, John Thaw is awesome as the main character, so different to Morse, Cheryl Campbell and Dominic Monaghan both impress equally as much.

How sad it ended after just four episodes, there were definitely more stories to be told here.

Terrific series, a wonderful watch, 10/10.

This film shows most of the horrors of war without being too graphic. The actors portray their characters wonderfully, whether you hate the character or love them. Every character has a depth that seems to be hard to find. You can't help but become emotionally involved.

I found the miniseries heart touching and an exceptionally humane.The priest monsignor Renard was shown not just as a God servant, but as a brother, friend and before all a man. The atmosphere felt realistic - the Germans are not all bad and the french are not all good. It seem that they all are trapped in the war, and have somehow to survive and continue with their lives.

John Thaw was just superb in the role of Monsignor Renard. I simply loved how without saying much, he managed to show through his eyes, the complexity of his character.

There for I would suggest to anyone that likes the actor to watch it.