It all began in 2014 with the two-part mystery Entre vents et marées, in which director Josée Dayan assembled a cast of French all-stars —Nicole Garcia, Jacques Spessier, Muriel Robin, and more— for a whodunit about urban renewal skullduggery which leads to murder.
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| "L'ami Français": Corinne Masiero, with Jonathan Lambert (C) as Stéphane, and Eric Caravaca as Donnadieu. |
But it was a supporting character that got noticed: the chapka-wearing Police Nationale detective sent to lead the investigation. From the opening joke likening the lady mayoress to a horse, to her compassion for victims' families, Corinne Masiero as Captain Marleau stole the show.
Cut to 2015 and Marleau has gone to series. The main changes were transforming Marleau into a Gendarmerie detective, adding a plaid flannel shirt and army surplus coat to her wardrobe, changing her 1980s Land Rover from brown to green, and making her personality even more out-there.
Over the first two seasons Dayan would bring back many of the Entre vents et marées cast in different guest roles. Other guest stars would include Gerard Depardieu, David Suchet, Joey Starr, Isabelle Adjani, Jean-Hugues Anglade, Kad Merad, Laura Smet, and Christophe Lambert.
Marleau borrows much from Columbo--
- Old rumpled coat
- Drives an old car
- Annoys suspects by making herself a nuisance
- "One more thing..."
She's a beer drinker; she references classic movies; she likes animals, stuffed and otherwise.
Marleau's backstory is that she was an orphan who was adopted by a family in the North, and wears that regional heritage with pride. In the season 2 episode "Double jeu" Marleau discovers she had a wealthy twin sister—whose tragic death she must investigate.
She is on the far left politically, addressing people as comrades, insulting politicians and the rich and privileged, speaking up for the downtrodden, singing The Internationale, and boosting workers and unions. In "Grand Hôtel," undercover Marleau led a wildcat strike by housekeeping staff.
Marleau's sexual preference seems fluid. In "Brouillard en thalasso" she was on vacation with a jolly fellow named Michel; she has flirted shamelessly with Leopold the pathologist (Jean-Claude Drouot, recurring), and Lt. Hazarski (Elie Semoun) in "L'homme qui brûle"; a number of times (most recently in "Grand Hôtel") she has mentioned having girlfriends.
While there is no regular supporting cast, Marleau does have a number of recurring friends/associates: Brigadier Brière (Aymeric Demarigny, seasons 1-4); Dr Oscar Langevin (Marius Colucci, seasons 1-4); to a lesser extent, the aforementioned Leopold.
The series up through "La der des der" is available on MHZ Choice.
Capitaine Marleau #34, "L'Ami Français" (The French Friend), runtime 1:36:10
Subtitles download link
Dayan departs from the usual format, putting the title card right at the start of the cold open, and in a giant white font.
Marleau responds to the murder of Josselin Gramont, a farmer in the Chevreuse Valley. This time the investigation could create a diplomatic incident, as one of the suspects in a nearby chateau is Joseph Nyandoro (Christopher Bayemi, who is Dr Bonnemain on HPI and Luther in the French Luther), former president of made-up country Malanga, now living in exile.
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| Christopher Bayemi (L) and Masiero |
OTHERS IN THE CAST
Irène Jacob (Elisa), of Au Revoir, Les Enfants and The Double Life of Veronique (Cannes 1991 Best Actress), played the killer nun in Season 1's "Les mysteres de la foi."
Eric Caravaca (Capt Donnadieu) recently appeared in the HPI fourth season finale, "Ultraviolet."
NOTES
The balafon, a type of xylophone, is heard at the start and several times in the score.
The role of Nyandoro's house (0'02"), Chabreuil (10'40", Chabreuil Manor at 14'45"), is played by Chateau Vaugien, a historic home owned by the same family since it was built c.1830. It is located in Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse, a small town 12 miles southwest of Paris. The chateau has served as a location for over 50 films and TV programs.
Chabreuil also seems to be the name of the town made up for the story; there is no Chabreuil in France, though there is a Chabeuil in the southern Ardeche region.
'Market gardener,' maraicher, (3'19") isn't a common term in America, it's a small farmer who grows produce, flowers, and plants for sale to consumers and restaurants.
Marleau's first meeting with Stephane and Donnadieu (7'51") is one big slang patter:
- She calls them mon cousin, I'm putting 'cuzz' to be even more informal;
- She then tells Stephane, 'So tell me, zoubette,' a northern word for a flirt (usually female), but can also be a unisex familiar term. I'm putting 'Talk to me, homie' for added familiarity;
- I think marmars is 'markets' in this context;
- Beurre sur les épinards, 'butter on spinach,' (7'54") is an expression meaning 'to make ends meet' or 'earn extra money';
- Marleau formally introduces herself to Donnadieu by saying Comme toi la mijole, 'like you, kid' (8'00"), which I'm translating as 'I'm one of you, kid.' And the name Donnadieu means 'given to god';
- It sounds like she's pronouncing gamme as gym, so Non mais on peut donner la gamme non plus (8'06") is 'We're not giving the game away either'-- probably meaning 'let's not talk in front of the civilian.'
I can't find a saint named Aëlle (13'33") or anything similar.
Saumur (14'49") is a city of 26,000 in the west near Tours, famous for its medieval chateau.
Nyandoro contemplating the frog: Catherine Lara's score here made me think of the prince locked in the castle tower in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
Café de Flore (18'20"), at 172 Boulevard Saint-Germain in Paris, is a coffee shop where Jean Paul Sartre, among others, used to hang out.
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It's time to play Frog, Bullfrog, Or Sartre. Sartre illustration from NY Review of Books |
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Pauvre petit président riche, 'Poor little rich president' (19'16") is a play on 'poor little rich girl,' the nickname for Barbara Hutton (1912-1979), the Woolworth heiress. It was also the title of a 1936 Shirley Temple movie.
Bokassa (19'42") declared himself emperor of the Central African Empire 1976-79 (CA Republic before and after), after being president starting in 1966. His son was named heir apparent at age 4 and continues to style himself Bokassa II. Marleau's North Korean example is actually grandfather-father-son. Bokassa is also referenced in "La der des der."
Reminder that a department (22'18") is sort of like a county.
'To be born, live, and die' (24'27"): Marleau may be citing the work of Paulo Mantegazza (1831-1910)-- an Italian neurologist who studied coca leaves-- in Die Hygiene des Lebensalters, a collection of quotations about old age and death.
Marleau accidentally on purpose mistakes the chef Amadamo for the Belgian singer/songwriter Salvatore Adamo (25'28"). Les filles du bord de mer (Girls From The Seaside) was his 1965 hit single.
Adamo performs Les filles du bord de mer
An African palabre (palaver) tree (26'08") is not a species, but a tree that functions as a gathering place-- such as for talking and storytelling, thus 'palaver.'
Calais and the Roya Valley (28'01") are foci of the migrant controversy in France. Many immigrants are confined at and sent on from Calais. The Roya, on the border with Italy, is where many migrants enter France. It is known as "the rebel valley" due to the number of locals who see it their civic duty to provide migrants with food, shelter, and transportation. The Roya is in the same area as where Memoires a vif ("Meurtres a... Valbonne") takes place.
Ha-- aviez une dent, 'having a tooth' (29'00"), means 'having a beef' with someone.
After going for a run and failing to keep up with the younger Inissa, an out-of-breath Marleau announces (30'20") she's going to have a drink at the chateau parce que a plein cul, literally 'because my ass is full.' Translating this as 'because I've had enough' would be sufficient, but 'because I've had a buttload' is funnier and closer to the literal meaning.
Parcoursup (30'39") is the web portal that high school students have used since 2018 to pre-register for college. Many say it is discriminatory and elitist, which explains Marleau's reaction.
Marleau tries to insult Inissa by saying she and the parquet floor are both long in the tooth (32'27").
What happened to Marleau's La Marseillaise ringtone (32'38")?
The recent Brittany case (32'52") must be "A contre-courant," but Marleau and Hakim got along fine. The last local officer who didn't like Marleau was Cmdr Duchesne ("Follie's"), and that was filmed in the Paris region.
Sainte-Soline (33'36") refers to 2023 protests against privatization of water resources and the police response, which can only be described as a violent overreaction.
Battle of Saint-Soline
I can't make out what Valera is saying at 36'12", which sounds like Ouais, vaut pas qu'elle la? (Yeah, it [or she] isn't worth it). 'You're enjoying this' is closer to the context here.
Inissa describes her affair with Josselin as 'La brillante dircab who has sex with a peasant' (37'49"). Dircab must be directeur de cabinet, or chief of staff.
A TDS (38'18") is a Taxe de Sejour, levied by localities on inhabitants who are not officially registered there, as a way to ensure everyone pays their fair share to support the community.
Marleau's reference to Taxi Girl (39'48") was to an early-80s New Wave band.
Taxi Girl's sole album, Seppuku (1981)
Cherchez le garçon (Look For The Boy) was a Taxi Girl single in 1980-- though Marleau says Cherchons les garçons, Looking For Boys.
Cherchez le garçon
I can't figure this one out: questioning Elisa and the villagers about Josselin, Marleau asks for le paillard du coq (46'01"), which is a chicken with pan sauce dish (also called paillard du poulet). Paillard also means 'lecherous,' and coq (rooster) can mean cockfight. My best guess is that she means to liken Josselin to a fighting rooster, and naming him a chicken dish is just a pun.
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| Masiero with Irène Jacob |
Sainte Noemi or Naomi (47'52") is an Old Testament figure who articulated, apparently cynically, that her position and security depends on her marital and motherhood status. She is her husband's possession, but gains her own identity as a widow.
Maître Capello, Master Capello (50'02"), was Jacques Capelovici (1922-2011), a grammarian, crossword puzzle expert, and gameshow host, whose stage name became synonymous with good grammar.
There are 27 EU commissioners (51'38"), one for each member, so Marleau must mean the French one.
The flag of Malanga (51'46") is similar to those of Gambia and Mozambique.
Jealousy is another thing that's like a train, another one will be along shortly (52'33").
Diego Maradona, 1960-2020 (54'29"), was an Argentine football player, one of the best in the world. He and Pelé were named Players of the 20th Century by FIFA.
Roland Barthes, 1915-1980 (54'41") was a writer/philosopher whose work can be generally described as creating methods for identification of patterns and clues in cultural context.
OM (54'46") is Olympique de Marseille, a football club.
The ball isn't in the net, so Marleau must have blocked the shot (56'34").
Chéreau (61'52") is probably the director Patrice Chéreau (1944-2013). I have no idea which of his films has a character Captain Larousse.
Yes, Jacques a dit (62'31") is the French 'Simon says'!
Moutarde du monte au nez, 'mustard from the top to the nose' (63'04"), seems to be a mashup of 'cuts the mustard' and 'tip top.'
J'ai peut-être pas fait Sciences Po, 'I didn't do the Institute of Political Studies' (72'53"), refers to a top level university in Paris that specializes in political science, economics, law, and sociology.
The writers missed an obvious Chairman Meow joke (72'59").
It sounds like Donnadieu says the gynecology clinic is located in Les Prés (73'35"), but that town is far to the south, next stop Provence.
Due to the context I'm translating préchauffer, 'preheat' (73'39"), as 'bun in the oven.'
Lapin chasseur (75'28") is a dish (Hunter rabbit), whereas chaud lapin is slang for 'horny guy.'
...alors qu'en fait l'ai été copain comme torchon, 'when actually they were friends like rags' (84'08") I think means 'when actually their friendship was in tatters.'
I have no idea how to correctly translate forcément que si (84'59") in this context. A frequent translation is 'necessarily,' which doesn't make sense here.
A barbouze (94'33") is a spook, secret agent, or bodyguard.
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