Vive la France!

Le crime de la tour Eiffel, (Crime at the Eiffel Tower), runtime 1:31:46
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I selected this Meurtres a...-style TV film because I thought the setting and the Tower's history would be a good match for Bastille Day. And it so happens the opening scene does take place on the night of July 14.

The murder of a young YouTube influencer brings out Capt Laura Giordano (Flore Bonaventura from Magellan , others too numerous to list) to investigate. The case will be complicated and fraught with pressure because the crime scene is the Eiffel Tower. Laura's recovering from the emotional scars of an incident which will be revealed in due course, working this case is her boss Eric throwing her back in the pool.

Benoit Michel (L) and Flore Bonaventura

One of Eric's conditions is that Laura work with The New Guy In Town, Capt Mathieu Béllanger, fresh from solving a big case in Beaumont. Together they explore behind the scenes at the Tower, investigate a killer desperate to protect a secret, reunite a family seeking to recover a valuable heirloom, and discover links to a pivotal moment in French history.


MISC

It’s been a while since I’ve included DHH subs, so reminder: I subtitle (in red) non-spoken sounds which are significant to the story. Red ellipses mean "previous sound repeats."

Words which appear on screen (eg signs, texts, episode titles and locators) I subtitle in green.

I identify significant characters the first time they say something. If a lot of characters are introduced quickly at the beginning, I identify them in green.

When an entire dialogue side is said from offscreen, I either a) identify the speaker, or b) put the subtitle toward the speaker's side of the screen.

I don't know why the Opensubtitles link didn't work the first time. 


NOTES

The Champs-de-Mars (00'11”) is the park at the base of the Tower. Identifying it now means a later footnote isn't needed.

Mademoiselle Holmes S02E06

Mademoiselle Holmes S02E06, “Jour J” (Big Day), runtime 51:57
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The second season concludes. A visit to husband-and-wife wedding planners for Florence’s pending nuptials is interrupted by discovery of the husband’s (stabbed) body. Evidence leads the brigade to a cowboy, a hidden past, a cold case, and an unexpected culprit. Meanwhile, Charlie and April continue to meet on the sly.  Charlie moons over Chris. Samy makes a career decision. Florence and Vince tie the knot. Chris returns Charlie’s feelings, but they get a discomfiting surprise.

Dewaere with Roxane Mesquida as April

MISC

I keep having to remind myself that Mademoiselle Holmes is not a reboot/reimagining of Sherlock Holmes, but a ‘next generation,’ there’s no Charlie & Samy canon.

Talk about unexplored B stories: Florence and Vince’s romance is given zero development.


NOTES

(The Honourable) Ronald Adair (6’19”) was the victim in Conan Doyle’s “The Adventure of The Empty House.”

Tu l'as bien mouchée, ‘You blew his nose well’ (7’40”), means ‘well, you showed him.’

It's not a gang, it's a club

Mademoiselle Holmes S02E05, “Toxique” (Toxic), runtime 53:07
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Nothing happened between Charlie and Chris, thank god. Yet?

The brigade is called to the Nantes University medical school, where student Damien and Dr Brassier, a professor’s wife, have been found dead in a dorm room, a Killer Bong close at hand. Was the doctor as faithful as her husband maintains? Or was she the collateral victim of squirrely dealer Amaury? Samy's alumni status, as well as being a legend of the med school's secret society chapter, gives him and Charlie access to the victims’ friends, rivals, and secrets.

NOTES

1’46”: The Universite de Nantes medical school (Faculte de Medecine) is not really named after Marie Curie, despite the sign the show put at what is supposed to be the campus entrance (2’17”). The real school is not in such a park-like setting.

The Sherlock link mangles elements of the Doyle short story “The Adventure of the Devil’s Foot” (4’24”). In that Holmes case Mortimer Tregennis murders his sister and drives his brothers mad using poison vapors from burning a toxic root in a lamp; he was then killed with the same MO by his cousin Dr Sterndale.

Haut Potentiel Intellectuel S05E04

Haut Potentiel Intellectuel S05E04, “L'homme au soda à moitié plein” (The Man With the Half-Filled Soda), runtime 55:10
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Serge finally brings the Alvaro clan together for a day at the beach, only it's so Morgane can scatter his ashes on the English Channel. But on the train to the seaside, Morgane notices when a passenger goes missing. Stuck on the train, she sets out to manage the investigation by remote control.

Celine is trying to put out a fire regarding Morgane’s contract. Théa is wondering why Serge has left his lucky poker chip to her dad. A talkative student unwittingly provides clues to a 2023 homicide. Eliott is repulsed by the train restroom. Karadec realizes he's busted. Morgane has a brush with April Moriarty- I mean a mysterious passenger.


NOTES

Agnes refers to her cabas (00’39”), which usually means ‘tote’ or ‘tote bag.’ But in this case it’s one of those wire baskets on wheels, which is a ‘trolley.’

The funeral home employee (1’03”) is a role with no name. She's played by Domitie de Lamberterie.

The Brado Bunch

It's summer, so it may be a little longer between updates.


Haut Potential Intellectuel S05E03 “Effet Barnum” (Barnum Effect), runtime 59:12
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Three weeks have passed, and Morgane and Karadec's relationship is the worst kept secret at the commisariat. The brigade receives a visitation from Mélusine, a medium who claims a spirit gave her a vision of a woman being attacked. Morgane loves it of course, treating the paranormal like a guilty pleasure. Daphné loves it too, but of course for her it’s super serious. Théa and Morgane wonder what’s up with Karadec’s mysterious renting of an Airbnb. Gilles and Afida seem locked into a future together, but her days at the front desk are numbered if Celine has anything to say about it. Meanwhile, clues like the initials JJ, the name Brad, and the number 12 lead Morgane and Daphné to NFL night at a sports bar. The central bureaucracy rears its head.

Daphné (Bérangère McNeese) makes a rare trip out of the office.

Haut Potential Intellectuel S05E02

Haut Potential Intellectuel S05E02, “Galatée” (Galatea), runtime 55:03

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Morgane and Karadec’s daycare nightmare continues.  Leo in tow, they respond to the scene of a car crash in which the head of a golf equipment company died– but not from the crash. And it turns out that his cousin died less than a month earlier, with an identical M.O.

A portrayal of Galatée (The Triumph of Galatea by Giaquinto)

The episode engages in some role reversal, with Morgane stepping up as the investigator to support a hopelessly distracted Karadec. Daphne is helping Gilles deal with Afida.  Celine suddenly is having trouble remembering first names.

MISC

Galatea was a sea nymph in Greek mythology, she was the goddess of calm seas. Also from Greek mythology was another Galatea– the statue Pygmalion carved out of alabaster and then brought to life by Aphrodite. The name means ‘she who is milk-white.’

I realized that I’ve never subtitled Morgane’s HPI ‘flashes.’ I’m trying it this time, and calling it ‘Morgane’s gears spin.’

NOTES

Morgane whispers something about clopes a le de, ‘smokes have’ (7’52”). I think she’s saying something like ‘Whose smokes are these?’

13’37”: A grondin, aka gurnard.

DIPJ, ‘Interregional Directorate of the Judicial Police’ (20’37”), is the full name of Celine’s command. I usually just put PJ, this time it will be ‘Directorate.’

Fait avoir comme un bleu, ‘got taken for a blue’ (20’51”), means ‘got taken for a ride/played for a sucker.’

Occupe a bruler des galoshes (27’43”) literally translates to ‘busy burning the skates,’ meaning ‘kiss passionately.’ But that’s not something Morgane would say, so I did something a little different that preserves the ‘busy’ aspect.

36’01”: Doris is another sea goddess, the wife of sea god Nereus.

I don’t get the point or joke Morgane is trying to make about Nike (37’11”).

Cran (44’06”) means ‘hole,’ but also ‘guts.’

Péquenaud (49’38”) means ‘redneck.’

Boulette, ‘meatball’ (50’14”), means ‘mistake.’

Haut Potentiel Intellectuel S05E01

Haut Potentiel Intellectuel S05E01 “Du grave à l'aigu” (From Low To High), runtime 59:20
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The fifth and final season begins with an homage to 24. Splitscreens are employed, there is both ticking AND beeping, and a red digital clock. Not present are Chloe's headset and Jack Bauer’s magic bag.

Morgane and Karadec appear to have been cohabitating to care for new baby Leo, but their maternity and paternity leaves are ending. The new parents have hardly slept in weeks, and Thea’s nerves are fraying too.  Gilles is still with Afida, in much the same way that the senator's daughter was 'with' Buffalo Bill. 

Gilles calls them to Roubaix to investigate the suspicious death of Adrien, where they also discover his baby, alone. Who killed Adrien, and where is the mother? Morgane is faced with data like a locked room, a mother of whom there is no sign except some photos, and the science of how babies cry, but she can’t focus due to lack of sleep. Can she put all the pieces together in time?


MISC

I started to subtitle this as non-SDH, but I changed my mind and went back and added my usual basic SDH, which added a day.

When I got to about :48 I discovered someone had uploaded fairly good English subs on Opensubtitles. From the date they were posted they must be machine-translated official TF1 subs. But they read as abridged, mine are more complete.

Mademoiselle Holmes S02E04

Mademoiselle Holmes S02E04, "Reine de beauté" (Beauty Queen), runtime 48:44
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Charlie and Samy go looking for love online, while coincidentally called to a murder case in an environment where looks are judged: a contest/pageant to pick a new spokesmodel for a cosmetics company. A contestant, Lou, has been found dead in her hotel room, her body placed, apparently with respect, in a position of repose.

Florence seems oddly chipper, and takes to offering her staff 'food'; maybe this is taking the place of Florence-isms.  Conan Doyle's story "The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet" makes a nano-cameo.  April makes contact again, offering Charlie an olive branch. Chris gets some bad news-- and then a surprise.

Dewaere with Tatiana Gousseff as Isabelle.

NOTES

Speaking of contests: Les Dicos d’or, ‘Golden Dictionaries’ (5’05”) was the French Spelling Championship, running annually from 1985 to 2005.

Alors, la lauréate devient l'égérie des Cosmétiques Sentalia (7’19”) translates to ‘So, the winner becomes the face of Sentalia Cosmetics if she wins the contest?’ is not only clunky, but also redundant. I’ve cleaned it up.

Aunt Isabelle (11'56") is Tatiana Gouseff from In Tandem.
      Maternité Bretéché, ‘Bretéché Maternity,’ is a real clinic located at 3 Rue de la Beraudière in Nantes.

I’m keeping the subscribe/give up misunderstanding (17’19”) even though they’re not homophones in English. S'abonner is ‘subscribe/join,’ abandonner is ‘give up/drop out.’

A corbeau, ‘crow’ (21’03”), is the name for someone who sends nasty notes/poison pen letters. That’s kind of wordy, so I’m translating it as ‘note writer.’

Okay, what’s with this Vince all of a sudden? (23’45”)

There is a Hotel Castelbrac (32’19”), but it’s in Dinard, not Cherbourg.

Jess reports that Lou a subi les cours lieutauds pendant un an… C'est une prépa aux concours scientifiques et médicaux, ‘took the Lieutaud courses for a year… It's a preparatory course for scientific and medical competitive exams’ (33’34”). Joseph Lieutaud was an 18th century doctor who wrote books on medicine, but I can’t verify the existence of a cours lieutaud academic program. Or even a French school named Lieutaud. I’ve adjusted the sentence to reflect Samy’s following comment that ‘the teachers there are paid better than cops.’
      Otherwise, Cours Lieutaud is a street in Marseille (cours as in corsa, ‘race/run/scramble’ in Italian).

37’30” c.f.: I’ve decided that in this situation, in English we would call a concours an ‘exam/test.’ The models’ concours is still a contest.

37’53”: We find out Chris’s ex is also in the police, probably a commander also.

This is a weird one: April clearly says J'en veux plus de ma vie d'avant, ‘ I want more of my old life’ (40’01”). Which is completely at odds with the next part of her speech, about wanting to live an anger-free life like Charlie. So it must be J'en veux plus ne de ma vie d'avant, and the ne got swallowed up by the plus.

41’01” c.f.: Samy sleeps in a Sherlock Holmes t-shirt.

Mademoiselle Holmes S02E03

Mademoiselle Holmes S02E03, “Une histoire de soeurs” (Sisters Story), runtime 49:57
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The brigade is called to the scene of an attack on celebrity choreographer Iris and her sister Violette who is also her personal assistant. Violette is missing presumed kidnapped, and needs her medication to control a heart condition. To make matters murky, the sisters seem to have issues.

Dewaere with Thomas Jouannet (C) as Chris, Tom Villa (R) as Samy, and Gavril Dartevelle as Jules.

It’s Take Your Teenager To Work Day for Chris. Charlie has her own sister issue now that she has proof April Moriarty is alive. April is either remorseful or doing a great job of pretending (she was aware Ben was taking photos of her). Charlie splurges on new wheels for her and Samy.

MISC

I don’t think we’ve seen Loïc this season.

NOTES

2’43”: Jules says Iris’s rapper boyfriend’s name is… Utz Iago? That’s what it sounds like. (No, apparently it's 'U dash Go,' because I'm stupid. And it's right there in the poster. I won't update it.)

6’23”: Florence says Sinon on va avoir tout de le réseau le train, ‘Otherwise we will have everything from the train network.’ I don’t think the last word is actually train, but that’s what it sounds like. This is a guess, but in context I think she’s saying, ‘Otherwise, we’ll be hearing from the local power elite.’

The baker, the thief, the wife & her lover

Capitaine Marleau #37, “L’Amiral” (The Admiral), runtime 1:39:44
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Retired naval officer Gabin Vauthier and his partner Clara Santini live lakeside with teen Jade in the town of Saint-Léger. The couple have plans to build a water sports center (base nautique) for disadvantaged kids. When we first meet them, Clara is angry with Gabin because he has trouble relating to the age group they want to help.

Jacques Bonnaffé as Gabin

Then Clara is found dead in a canoe. Local gendarmes call for an investigator, but Chief Warrant Officer Bérot is not pleased when Marleau arrives. He remarks to another gendarme: “I threw €2 in the Trevi Fountain so this crazy woman would never come here again. It failed.”

Masiero with Lorant Deutsch as Bérot

Marleau faces an assortment of suspects:

• Gabin, obviously
• Franck Galeron, a hotel owner who wants lake access for his own base nautique (but not one for disadvantaged kids)
• Franck’s son, Thomas
• Jade, sullen teenager, Gabin's goddaughter
• Lili, Gabin’s sister (estranged), who owns the bakery/art gallery

And what is the exact nature of Gabin, Clara, and Jade’s relationship?