Tag: Crime

DEAD MAN’S WIRE – Review

Dacre Montgomery as Richard and Bill Skarsgard as Tony, in Gus Van Sant’s DEAD MAN’S WIRE. Courtesy of Row K Entertainment

It has been seven years since we saw a film from Gus Van Sant but the director comes back strong with DEAD MAN’S WIRE, an impressive crime thriller/drama based on a bizarre real hostage incident in late 1970s Indianapolis. In 1977, an aspiring businessman, Tony Kiritsis (Bill Skarsgard), who felt cheated by his mortgage lender, took the company’s manager hostage, by attaching a shotgun to his neck with a looped wire, while the gun’s trigger was wired to the kidnapper’s body, so that if a sniper killed the kidnapper, the hostage would die too. The method has since called a dead man’s wire. Gus Van Sant uses this real event to craft a tense, thriller film, laced with a dark humor that built on the absurdity of the situation, but also human drama that touches on issues of despair and desperation, economic unfairness, and shady business dealings. DEAD MAN’S WIRE is a technically impressive film as well as working as both a gripping entertainment thriller and commentary on slanted economic system.

Much of this crazy real event was captured on film by news camera, which was shot continuously during the 63 hour standoff with the kidnapper. The engrossing historic thriller is given an authenticity by director Gus Van Sant who captures the feel of 1977, by carefully reproducing the 1970s styles and visual aesthetics of the time period, and most strikingly by recreating the look of TV news and shows of the era, in this film. The visuals so closely match the actual archival footage of the real event, snippets of which Van Sant inserts into his film. The event took place during a transitional moment in how news is covered, and the event is still taught in schools of journalism as an example of news reporting crossing a line to escalate a situation. It adds an eerie level to this already atmospheric, darkly comic thriller/drama.

The film does not condone the kidnapper’s actions but Bill Skarsgard’s masterful performance gives us insights on someone driven to the edge, after being taken advantage of by his unscrupulous, wealthy lender. Austin Kolodney’s script speaks to “Everyman” issues of economic inequality and an unfair system skewed to favor the already rich, a topic that particularly resonates today. There are echoes of DOG DAY AFTERNOON in this film, as well as other “little guy” against the system tales, of someone driven over the edge by circumstances. While DEAD MAN’S WIRE is based on a true story, the drama/thriller goes in unexpected directions, and leans into its dark, absurdist humor at times.

Bill Skarsgard gives a striking performance as the odd, even unbalanced Tony Kiritsis, a would-be real estate entrepreneur who relishes the spotlight, which is part of why this film is so involving.

Tony Kiritsis (Bill Skarsgard) has reached a desperate state with a mortgage he took out from local lender Meridian Mortgage. The mortgage was not for a home, but a business investment in real estate, property Tony Kiritsis hopes to develop as the location for a shopping mall. Tony had lined up plenty of would-be business tenants but he is puzzled as they fade away and he has trouble securing businesses to lease space. Without those funds, he falls behind on payments, and Tony has grown increasingly frustrated in trying to deal with his lender. When Meridian Mortage’s owner M. L. Hall (Al Pacino) offers to buy the property – for far less than Tony paid – Tony begins to suspect it is his own lender who is re-directing would-be leasers to other sites, sabotaging Tony’s business plan.

Tony’s anger and desperation leads to his plan with the dead man’s wire. The original target was Meridian’s M. L. Hall but instead, Tony ends up taking Hall’s son Richard, who also works for Meridian, hostage. Since this is based on a real event, that is not much of a spoiler, as the real big question is what happens next.

The police are alerted and are almost immediately on the scene, but there is little they can do, with Tony’s “dead man’s wire” shotgun apparatus pointed at Richard Hall’s head and the trigger wired to be pulled if Tony falls. Shooting Tony means killing his hostage too. Hence, Tony is able to take Richard to his apartment unimpeded, where he holds him for several days.

Meanwhile, ambitious young Black TV journalist Linda Page (Myha’la), who happens upon the scene, recruits her cameraman and starts filming the events, despite her boss’ efforts to hand off the assignment to a more experienced (and white, male) reporter. Events unfold that also involve at popular radio DJ, Fred Temple (Colman Domingo) known for his philosophical, Everyman musings on the radio. Tony Kiritsis is a fan, and the police try to use the DJ as a way to reach the kidnapper. Cary Elwes plays plainclothes detective Mike Grable, who was first on the scene, and who tries to be a calming figure to establish rapport with the kidnapper.

This bizarre crime and ensuing police standoff takes on a media circus-like air out in the Midwestern city streets, but the film also spends a lot of time inside Tony’s apartment, with just Tony and Richard, who goes by Dick. Holed up in Tony’s apartment, we get to know both oddball Tony and buttoned-down Richard. Dick is very much under the thumb of his wealthy father. M.L. knew Tony was on the edge, yet M. L. deliberately leaves his son to deal with the loaded situation, while M. L. heads out of town, becoming unavailable for any face-to-face. In truth, Richard is as much exploited by his father M. L. as his client Tony is.

As the hostage situation goes on, a kind of cat-and-mouse relationship evolves between the two men, with the more outgoing Tony even becoming rather friendly towards Richard, in a bit of reverse Stockholm Syndrome. But whether that does Richard any good is another matter. Eventually, Tony issues his demands, which include an apology from M. L. Hall personally.

Skarsgard’s outstanding performance is supported well by the rest of the cast, including particularly Dacre Montgomery, who plays the kidnapped banker Richard Hall. All the cast are good, with Colman Domingo another strong character as the DJ drawn into the situation. The wealthy M.L. Hall is played as distracted and distant by Al Pacino, in a strong performance, and there also is a little parallel to the real-life kidnapping of millionaire J. P. Getty’s grandson here, as negotiations begin.

That shotgun wired to hostage Richard’s neck ensures tensions are constantly high, but the quirkiness of the people involved, the unpredictability of both their nature, and the situation, make this a film where you never know what will happen next. None of this goes like the typical movie hostage situation. No character feels that strangeness more keenly that Coleman Domingo’s radio DJ, recruited as a sort of hostage negotiator, a role he’d rather not play. The ambitions of the young reporter, the determination of the cops, led by Cary Elwes’ Mike Grable, to find a way out, and the pressure on everyone of being on camera and in the public eye constantly adds fuel to the incendiary situation. And remember these are real people and real events, something that Van Sant reminds the audience about by inserting actual footage of the real events.

While some may see the film as anti-capitalist, that is not quite an accurate description, as the “common man” at its center is also a businessman, even if he is not too successful. Instead, DEAD MAN’S WIRE, in part, is more commentary on the warping of the American Dream and the old American free enterprise system, an aspirational ideal in a post-WWII world marked by the Marshall Plan, but which came to a crashing end in the “greed is good” 1980s. The old free enterprise system promised a level playing field for even small businesses to compete fairly, and succeed through hard work and good ideas, rather than through a “thumb on the scale” and unscrupulous, deceitful practices. Kiritsis’ his lack of success is not due, per se, to lack of skill in business, but by the tilted playing field upon which he treads, ironically being skewed by his own lender, who in a more ethical world be his ally. Instead, his banker is concealing that his thumb is on the scale, and has plans to turn his client’s misery to his advantage. The film’s themes are less anti-capitalist than anti-unscrupulous, a condemnation of predatory business practices, contrasting human dealings versus dehumanized practices, the latter style one which Al Pacino’s morality-free character represents well.

Gus Van Sant’s DEAD MAN’S WIRE is highly entertaining as a crime thriller, as well as a technically impressive film, and enhanced by first rate performances particularly by Bill Skarsgard in what may be a career best, as well as working as historical drama and commentary on a slanted economic system.

DEAD MAN’S WIRE opens in theaters on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.

RATING: 4 out of 4 stars

“Backwoods Crime” – TV Series Review

A scene from the Austrian TV series “Backwoods Crime.” on MHz Choice. Courtesy of MHz Choice

Some time ago, I reviewed ten mostly-unrelated tele-films from Austria, streaming on MHz Choice under the umbrella of “Backwoods Crime.” The casts, plots and locales are all different, just sharing the common thread of murders in the boondocks being handled in an intelligent, modest-action manner by whichever cops are called upon. All were worthwhile, to varying degrees. Not a lemon in the lot.

“Der Schutzengel” is the first of nine now being released for streaming under that heading. This one opens 12 years before its main action, with young Martin (Michael Steinocher) having his marriage proposal deflected by his girlfriend. She says they’re too young, but doesn’t fully close that door. We learn she disappeared shortly thereafter, with her whereabouts still unknown.

A dozen years later, Martin returns to that town as a police officer, planning to move into his old house with his new squeeze. But he starts having flashbacks to the unfinished business of that dangling proposal. Those mainly consist of the eye candy we get from Martin having recorded his then-topless intended, expecting a yes to be preserved for posterity.

Martin’s first case involves the long-term housemaid of the local gentry found dead in the pond where she regularly swam. It looks like an accident, but that wouldn’t give us 90 minutes of story line, would it? Once they determine it was murder, despite any apparent motives,questions arise as to whether it relates to that earlier disappearance, which has been gnawing at Martin ever since.

The case is overseen by Detective Paul Werner (Franz Karl), who methodically and calmly unravels the mystery(ies). There’s nothing glamorous about the process, but Karl’s low-key performance, balancing the sleuthing with sensitivity, is a pleasure to watch. He’s apparently played cops before, but this character deserves more chances to shine. Give the dude a real series, folks. Then be sure to send it along for streaming on our side of the pond.

The consistency of the quality throughout these ten gives good reason to expect more of the same from the other forthcoming nine.

That’s my last review for 2025. Happy New Year, everyone!

“Backwoods Crime: Der Schutzengel,” in German with English subtitles, streams on MHz Choice starting Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025.

RATING: 3 out of 4 stars

A scene from the Austrian TV series “Backwoods Crimes.” Courtesy of MHz Choice. Copyright: ORF/Mona Film/Tivoli Film/Helga Rader

“Good People” – TV Miniseries Review

A scene from the French/Belgian TV miniseries “Good People.” Courtesy of MHz Choice

“Good People” (“Des Gens Bien”) is a French/Belgian miniseries that plays out as a droll dramedy arising from a scam. The title denotes the fact that good people can do uncharacteristically bad things with what seem like good intentions. They can also rope in other good people who mean well.

We start with watching Tom (Lucas Meister) stage an auto accident in which he barely survives, though his wife, Linda (Berangere McNeese), is burned to death. We soon learn why he did it – extreme financial hardship. Then about halfway through the six episodes, we learn how. The motive is to cash in on a big life insurance policy but events, as they must, soon spin out of control.

One cop, Philippe (Michael Abiteboul), smells a rat, suspecting the accident wasn’t what it seemed. But his boss, Roger (veteran character actor Dominique Pinon), who knows Tom very well, refuses to let him investigate. Roger had lost his wife in a similar crash around that same stretch of roadway, and is completely closed to any other explanation. There’s also an obstacle of cross-border jurisdiction limiting Philippe’s efforts.

Linda and Tom owned a tanning parlor that was failing. They were on the verge of losing that, plus their home and cars, having exhausted the limits of their credit. The members of a local church kicked in a lot of money its members could little afford to help them stay afloat by updating the equipment but it wasn’t going to be enough. Thus was the plot hatched… with the best of intentions.

Among the things that go wrong, Philippe won’t give up his probing. Linda’s cousin Serge (Peter Van den Begin), a hulking thug recently paroled from prison, tumbles onto the plan and forces his way in for the payoff. Tom’s highly devout sister (Gwen Berrou), who’d convinced the churchgoers to help him and Linda, sees something she shouldn’t, and a high-profile person accidentally involved in the intrigue brings far more attention to the case than anyone could have expected.

The tenor set by the series’ trio of writers can best be described as a darkly comic, slowly unfolding farce. The cast is excellent all around, especially shining as the plan unravels and actions become more desperate. The plot includes a few surprises in what happens to whom. Van den Begin really dominates in his scenes presenting Serge’s stupidity and conscience-free brutality. Pinon, who has been such an asset as a regular in the recently-reviewed cop series “Cassandre, gets too little screen time in this one. There’s also a brief role for Corinne Masiero, who headlined one of my favorite light crime series from ANY country, “Captain Marleau.”

My frequent complaint about series that run longer than needed is mercifully NOT applicable to this one. The half-dozen 50-minute episodes befit the material. The series ends without major cliffhangers but does leave a few open questions. One source indicates they meant it to run three seasons, which may not occur, since this one aired in 2022. I’d welcome more if that happens, but am quite satisfied with where they ended this production.

“Good People” (originally “Des Gens Bien”), in French with English subtitles, begins streaming MHz Choice on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025.

A scene from the French/Belgian TV miniseries “Good People.” Courtesy of MHz Choice

“Tandem: Return to the Past” – TV Series Review

Astrid Veillon and Stéphane Blanca as Soler and Marchal (center), in the French TV series “Tandem: Return to the Past.” Courtesy of MHz Choice

“Tandem: Return to the Past” (“Retour vers le passe”) is a long-running light French police procedural that draws to an end after 85 episodes that aired from 2016-2024. I reviewed the first dozen or so long ago, and don’t feel I’ve missed a lot of character progression in the interim. The squad and families have remained largely intact. Ex-spouses and colleagues Lea (Astrid Veillon) and Paul (Stephane Blancafort), the lead cops in the series, are getting along well and are possibly on the verge of re-tying the old knot. Their son Thomas (Titouan Laporte) has also become an officer. Things are going smoothly all around.

Well, that changes dramatically when a floating body turns up in the nearby river, minus one arm. Lea and Paul are vacationing with the whole family in the boonies when they find what turns out to be the missing appendage – miles from the other remains – perched atop a cairn, imbuing it with even greater significance.

They soon learn that both parts of the stiff came from a woman who was Lea and Paul’s bestie at the academy 20 years earlier. She was believed to have committed suicide. But the way her remains were unearthed and arranged, followed by the corpse of one of their old instructors found lying in her open and recently-vacated grave, point to our protagonists being targeted to revisit the old case, since someone apparently has an ax to grind, and thinks they’re the ones to handle it. Or, they might even be getting targeted, in a more menacing sense of the word.

Events in this two-part episode move along at a good pace, with humor and a few subplots fleshing out the complete picture and moving all towards closure. The scenery is lovely, as are the old buildings featured in much of the action set in Montpellier and its surroundings in southeastern France. The cast is almost overrun with likable characters. Lea and Paul’s faces – especially when smiling – radiate warmth and sincerity that works well with colleagues, witnesses and suspects.

I’m sure all who saw the previous 84 will feel as if they’re saying goodbye to old friends. I’ll probably go back and catch the ones I’ve missed. (Since writing this, I already have watched most of them; good stuff continued in the interim.)

No more coming without spoilers. Suffice it to report that all wraps up in a satisfactory manner, with no cliffhangers or unanswered questions.

“Tandem: Return to the Past” (originally “Retour vers le passe”), in French with English subtitles, begins streaming MHz Choice on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025.

Stephane BLANCAFORT (Paul Marchal), and Astrid VEILLON (Lea Soler), in the French TV series “In Tandem: Return to the Past.” Courtesy of MHz Choice

“Petra” Season 2 – TV Series Review

A scene from the Italian TV crime series “Petra” Season 2. Courtesy of MHz Choice

It’s been three years since I reviewed the earlier episodes of the entertaining Italian procedural, “Petra.” This round not only provides a pleasant return to its picturesque Genoa setting, but gives us an engaging evolution of the eponymous star. Here’s the usual refresher link: https://www.wearemoviegeeks.com/2022/11/petra-tv-series-review/

We rejoin Petra and Antonio after they’ve been on a long (by US standards) vacation. She stayed home alone with her pet tarantula – as would, of course, be her wont. He indulged in the uncharacteristic luxury of a long cruise, meeting a woman he adored (Beatrice, played by Manuela Mandracchia). But middle-aged shlub that he is, Antonio felt under-qualified to keep it going on land, since she was one of the VERY wealthy elite of the community. The class gap seemed to bother him, far more than her.

A more significant change manifests in Petra. She’s finally unpacked all those cartons from her move and filled that drab apartment with nice furnishings. Yet there’s still no artwork adorning the institutional gray walls. Baby steps towards normalcy. She’s opened up her personality appreciably, smiling and joking more than before. She’s still relationship-averse, assuming anything serious would end badly… again.

This second season has more heart, with greater emphasis on character development and personal story arcs, romantic and otherwise. Besides the spider, Petra continues another idiosyncrasy that fans of our “Quincy” series will recognize – keeping a memento from the clues at the end of each solved case.

But now to address the main course – the murders to be solved. As before, each 90-minute episode addresses new crimes, so bingeing isn’t as important for following the proceedings. In the first, a guy she meets from the web for a “zipless… shall we say, boink” turns up the next day as the season’s first murder victim. She keeps that one-nighter a secret for a while, so she’ll be allowed to stay on the case. It turns out that he was married with two kids and a complex set of personal and business activities, leaving a whole lotta motives and possible murderers to sort through. The second episode begins with a homeless guy in an alley being killed by a bullet, then brutally kicked by skinheads. Are those loathsome louts the culprits? Or was there more in the man’s pre-destitution life that caused his demise, along with others that followed?

The third episode begins with the murder of a dude in a jester costume during the colorful festivities of Carnival. Since everyone frolicking in the crowded street was in costume, ID’ing the killer wasn’t helped much by footage from surrounding street cams. The solution had to be extracted from old business with old friends/frenemies as well as recent events. The last episode revolved around sex trafficking and prostitution – mainly affecting the lives of minors.

Though there are moments of levity along the way, these are all handled as dramas, without the comedy side of other Italian favorites like “Detective Montalbano,” “Makari” or “Monterossi.” Three of the four cases were harder to figure out than one. It would be interesting to know which episode any of you find to be the weakest mystery link in the chain. Perhaps your mileage will vary.

What I’d previously described as a miniseries turned out to be two four-episode seasons that end in a satisfactory place for most of the principals (i.e. no cliffhangers), but leaves the door open for a third season. Since this quartet aired abroad in 2023, which was three years after the first foursome, it’s quite possible that more will follow. Fine with me if that’s the way the renewal winds blow.

“Petra” Season Two, mostly in Italian with English subtitles, begins streaming on MHz Choice starting Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025.

RATING: 3 out of 4 stars

ROOFMAN – Review

Channing Tatum and Kirsten Dunst star in Paramount Pictures’ “ROOFMAN.”

This weekend sees the release of a most unusual true-crime story. Yes, it’s got the standard details of a lawbreaker’s plans and motives (yup, filthy loot), but it’s more than that ole DRAGNET cliché of “Just the facts”. No, it takes lots of twists and turns, even making a detour into comedy (often slapstick) and romance (thanks to the sprightly pairing of the two leads). But don’t let its title mislead you, because the fella’ here known as the ROOFMAN is certainly not a spandex-clad “superguy”, though he’s not a super villain either. Mostly…

The film opens with the title guy doing his “thing”. Former US Army Reservist Jeffrey Manchester (Channing Tatum) scopes out a busy suburban McDonald’s as it closes for the night. After the workers depart, he heads to the roof and bashes a big hole so that he can drop in. From there, it’s a waiting game until the morning crew arrives. Jeff springs out wearing all black (including a ski mask) and brandishes his rifle. After the manager gives him the cash from the safe, Jeff instructs them to grab their coats and head to the walk-in cooler. But the manager doesn’t have one, so Jeff gives him his black jacket (he’s also dubbed the “gentleman robber”), then dashes away (and calls 911 to get his victims rescued from the cold). From there, the story backtracks to Jeff struggling to make ends meet for his wife, pre-teen daughter, and twin toddler sons. Taking inspiration from his Army pal Steve’s (LaKeith Stanfield) illicit schemes (phony IDs and passports), Jeff begins his retail and restaurant robbery spree. But the law catches up to him. Due to the whole “locking folks in freezers” MO, Jeff is convicted of armed kidnapping and given a hefty sentence. He quickly learns that his spouse has cut out contact with him (Jeff is quite a “girl daddy”). Using his observation skills from the service, he slips out of prison, and contacts his pal Steve, who tells him that he’s too “hot” and to contact him in a month about setting Jeff up with a new identity. What to do over those thirty days? A nearby Toys ‘R’ Us shop may be the answer. Near closing time, Jeff hides via the bathroom ceiling tile. He emerges after the store is closed, disables the security video system, and uses the space behind the bicycle display as his daytime hideaway. He also sets up video baby monitors throughout the store. One day, Jeff is aware of a sweet single mother on the staff. He sees Leigh (Kirsten Dunst) plead with her prickly boss Mitch (Peter Dinkledge) to let her take some discarded, unsellable items for her church’s toy drive. Mitch refuses, so Jeff figures out a way to exit and re-enter the store during the day. He shows up at the church to drop off his bag of goodies, but a member insists that he join the service. He spots Leigh in the choir, and at the post-service spaghetti lunch, Jeff (calling himself John) strikes up a conversation. A romance quickly ensues. But can he dodge her questions and the police? And what will happen when Steve returns? Will Jeff flee or pursue a new life with Leigh?

Once again, Tatum proves that he’s much more than his superb dancing skills as he ramps up the charm (and “rizz”) as the “man on the lam”. Actually, his Jeff/John just entrances almost everyone he meets, and even some of those crime victims, as he deftly sidesteps inquiries and contemplates his next move. But Tatum also shows us this man’s inner conflict and heartbreak over losing contact with his kids. Fortunately, he enjoys a surrogate fam via his relationship with Leigh, given a bouncy sweetness by the still endearing Ms. Dunst. It’s nice to see her step away from her recent somber, dramatic roles, although Dunst can certainly bring the tears in the emotional third act. A big entertaining asset is the great Dinkledge, who makes Mitch a very funny “retail dictator” as he glowers at his “slacking underlings”. Stanfield brings a dangerous, tough energy to the no-nonsense Steve. It’s a shame that the bubble Juno Temple (so great in “Ted Lasso”) doesn’t have more to do as his ditzy beautician GF. On the other side of the law is the inspired pairing of Ben Mendelsohn and Uzo Aduba as the affable Pastor John (at Leigh’s church) and his nurturing wife Eileen (going against the notion of Hollywood deriding the ministry). And stand-up comic Jimmy O. Yang delivers some laughs as a frazzled used car salesman.

Like Dunst, this is much lighter fare for director Derek Cianfrance, perhaps best known for THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES and BLUE VALENTINE. He displays a real flair for breezy comic set pieces, especially when Jeff becomes the nighttime ruler of “toyland” as he wastes the pre-dawn hours tossing teddy bears and scarfing peanut M&Ms (better than all the jars of baby food). Ditto for the initial dating of him and Leigh. But it eases into a few clichés, especially with her two daughters. The pre-teen is sweet and adorable, while the sixteen-year-old is the usual surly, snarky “demon spawn” overused in so many shows. I suppose this is there for conflict so that Jeff has to “work” to win them all over. This precludes a lull in the pacing, as the movie “spins its wheels” as Jeff gets a new set of wheels. Really, the film could have used a good fifteen or twenty-minute trim on the ole’ editing bay (well, probably all computers now). This leads up to the very sobering and sad finale, in which Jeff reverts to his criminal ways. The film doesn’t give him a “pass” since he’s really a good guy with Leigh and her kids. He “fesses up” that he’s a bad guy even after the filmmakers work diligently to make him the hangdog hero that we “root for”. No, he’s a criminal who takes the hard-earned money of others while waving a weapon. And if not for the high-caliber cast, this might have been another made-for-cable-TV bit of fluff. However, fans of Mr. Tatum and Ms. Dunst may enjoy and be moved by the true-life modern fable of the ROOFMAN. Oh, and be sure and stay for the end credits, which include lots of footage of the real folks.

2.5 Out of 4

ROOFMAN is now playing in theaters everywhere

“Riviere-Perdue” Season 1 – TV series review

A scene from French TV crime series “Riviere-Perdue.” Courtesy of MHz Choice

The six-episode police procedural miniseries from France, “Riviere-Perdue,” covers a related series of crimes in six 52-minute episodes. Its tone is more somber than most of the European TV fare I’ve reviewed – almost Nordic in tenor. But the setting is a village nestled in lush mountain greenery that makes it a visual treat, including all the standard driving transition scenes with overhead shots well above average on the beauty scale.

The star is Captain Alix Berg (Barbara Cabrita) who specializes in juvenile cases. She and an older homicide colleague, Commissaire Balthus (Jean-Michel Tinivelli), come to the eponymous town because two 11-year-old girls, Anna (Charlotte Lacoste) and Lucie (Camille Petit), went missing five years earlier, but staunch public pressure to find them endures. Their parents aren’t wealthy, and no ransoms were demanded, making some sort of perversion or trafficking most likely.

Ferrer (Nicolas Gob), the local lead cop, is still kicking himself for not realizing there had been a crime from the get-go, possibly making the recovery harder than it became. There’s a lot of anger and suspicion among the two families and others who may have been involved. The whole town is up in arms about the lack of resolution. The upside for viewers is that quite a few cast members get to display a wide range of their dramatic chops.

Some new evidence leads to the suspicion that an abduction from seven years before this one might have been done by the same perp or perps. Anna is rescued by a trucker in the early going but says little about her five years in captivity, including how much of the time she was with Lucie. Some of that may be due to emotional trauma and a head injury, but she also seems more secretive that she should be – especially since Lucie’s whereabouts remain unknown. Most of the running time centers around the search for Lucie, as the three detectives ricochet among a number of suspects, pursuing each clue that pops up regarding the old and new cases.

MHz Choice subscribers may recognize Gob from the light mystery series “The Art of Crime,” and Bruno Debrandt from the episodic procedural drama “The Traveller.” I’ve enjoyed both series, as my reviews of them reflect. This one is more serious and mystifying than those others. That’s partly due to the nature of the crimes running through the season, and all the dicey reactions and shifting relations among the principals that ebb and flow at a high and often extreme rate. As usual, there’s no nudity and relatively little on-screen violence. Beyond that, the less you know of the details, the more you’ll savor the suspense and its handful of plot twists.

“Riviere-Perdue” Season 1, mostly in French with English subtitles, is available via on MHz Choice starting Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025.

RATING: 2 out of 4 stars

Barbara CABRITA (as Alix Berg) Nicolas GOB (as Victor Ferrer) Cyril GUEI (as Marc Vidal), in a scene from the French TV series “Riviere-Perdue.” Courtesy of MHz Choice

“The Traveller” Season 2 – TV Series Review

A scene from French TV series “The Traveller” (“Le Voyageur”) Season 2. Courtesy of MHz Choice

It’s been over two years since I praised Season One of this fine and unique French procedural “The Traveller” (“Le Voyageur”), The protagonists were sequential disenchanted cops who went rogue – and native – to solve their choice of cold cases, often finding previously undetected links among multiple murders or abductions. Here’s the link to my coverage of Season One to prep for Season 2: https://www.wearemoviegeeks.com/2023/03/the-traveller-review

Season Two consists of eight more 90-minute episodes along the same lines, but even better written than before. I thought the improvement must have been due to added writers, but Herve Korian is the only credited author for the whole series! Kudos to Herve for upping his game from what was already very good.

Bruno Debrandt returns as iconoclastic Kandinsky, still going case-by-case, living in the same old van accompanied by Emy, the same helpful former police dog. His involvements in each new town are met with varying degrees of resistance or appreciation by the local authorities.

As before, his unofficial investigations are unhampered by usual police procedural constraints, and supported by Elise (Maelle Mietton), the judge who provides intel and legitimizes his efforts when needed. They and Emy are the only regulars, since each episode is a new crime or set of crimes in a new locale. Many of these unmask serial killers who’ve been flying under the radar by spreading their crimes over time and multiple jurisdictions.

Each “whodunnit” episode unfolds in a linear presentation, except for episode two, which begins at the end, and is brought up to date in progressive clips over the preceding year to reach that point. In many of them, new crimes relate to previous ones – some decades before and across borders – that Kandinsky’s broader, detached perspective reveals.

Though he’s still living off the land, there are no more scenes of his bare butt while bathing in whatever lake or river abuts the spot where he’s camped for the night. That’s a plus or a loss, depending on your preferences. The series makes excellent use of rural and small-town exteriors, with lush greenery, picturesque vistas and picture-postcard old streets and buildings.

The course of the season reminded me of “The Fugitive” TV series, since Kandinsky has an easygoing, empathetic nature that allows him to make friends easily with witnesses and other locals. His need for odd jobs to cover his meager expenses also lets him be as helpful as Dr. Kimball was in his travels. The main differences are that Kandinsky is doing this by choice, and there’s no Lt. Gerard on his tail.

The last of these programs aired abroad in May, 2025, which means there might well be more to come. I certainly hope that will be the case, even if Herve just writes at the same laudable level, without any need for further improvements.

“The Traveller” (“Le Voyageur”) Season 2, in French with English subtitles, debuts streaming on MHz Choice on Tuesday, July 22, 2025, with staggered releases of episodes through early August.

RATING: 3.5 out of 4 stars

A scene from French TV series “The Traveller” (“Le Voyageur”) Season 2. Courtesy of MHz Choice

“Chantal” Season 2 – TV Series Review

A scene from the Belgian TV series “Chantal” Season 2. Courtesy of MHz Choice

Season 2 of the charming Belgian crime dramedy “Chantal” picks up where the first season left off. The way lead detective Chantal (Maaike Cafmeyer) handled that concluding hostage situation landed her in hot water with the brass and  – even worse  – the rich asshole who runs the town as his own fiefdom, Schiettekatte (Wim Opbrouck), who is the driving force behind her suspension. That puts “The Sheriff” reluctantly in charge of the department, to absolutely no one else’s satisfaction – especially his. Here’s the review of Season One to bring you up to speed or refresh your memory. The season also starts with a brief recap of prior events: https://www.wearemoviegeeks.com/2025/02/chantel-tv-series-review.

This round gives us six episodes, opening and closing with two-parters and a pair of stand-alones in between. Chantal’s look and life remain quite disheveled, as she has yet to be accepted by the feds and higher-ups who view her initiative and opinions skeptically, despite the success she continues to deliver. The sexism is rather amusing, albeit frustrating for her to slog through, making it all the more gratifying when she outshines them. The tone remains largely playful, apart from a couple of serious developments for balance.

This season brings more of the same type of lightly-presented crimes, ranging from missing cremation ashes to major theft to killings, with a very low cumulative body count. The season’s running subplot is that Schiettekatte has decided to challenge the feckless mayor in the next election, which would spell disaster for the department and community. He’s itching to get even with the cops for how he was treated in Season One. Compared to before, there’s more script time for a number of supporting characters and their story arcs, letting the cast of (mostly) oddballs and eccentrics develop more than in their debut season. Chantal’s daughter Emma (Anna-Marie Missoul) and bar owner Muze (Zouzou Ben Chikha) make particularly good use of their increased presence.

Season 3 has just aired abroad, so it’s quite likely to cross the pond to our streaming shores. I hope it won’t be as long a wait for its US release as this was. Too much fun to defer.

“Chantel” Season Two, mostly in Dutch with English subtitles, begins streaming on MHz Choice starting Tuesday, July 15, 2025, with two episodes debuting weekly through July 29, 2025.

RATING: 2.5 out of 4 stars

A scene from the Belgian TV series “Chantal” Season 2. Courtesy of MHz Choice

“Mafia” – TV Series Review

A scene from the Swedish TV crime series “Mafia.” Courtesy of ViaPlay

The crime drama “Mafia” (originally “Maffia”) from Sweden is a bit atypical in its focus. Covering a period from 1991-1999, it’s mainly about Yugoslavian gangs in Sweden smuggling tax-dodging cigarettes for unimaginable profits. The timing is key, since there were Serbian and Croatian factions in conflict over not only turf and profits, but the beginnings and continuation of the war between the two back home. Both involved sides relied heavily on their cut of the multi-millions of smuggling revenue to fund the fighting.

The main character is Croatian Jakov (Peshang Rad) who is the shrewdest member of either gang, trying to maximize profits while minimizing violence and risks. The other two leaders are his “brother from another mother” Goran (Nemanja Stojanovic) who is more impulsive, and Drago (Cedomir Djordjevic) who is a reckless bully. The other two have more physicality and charisma than Jakov (think of Tim Roth vs. Jeff Fahey and Vinnie Jones), making them the ones others will follow, and whom Jakov always has to wheedle into patiently pursuing a wiser course of action. He’s the only one who sees the big picture and understands how to fly under the radar and play the long game.

They butt heads with a larger gang headed by the utterly ruthless Serbian Zlatko (Miodrag Stojanovic, who looks like James Carville in a perpetually foul mood). The maneuvers and shifting alliances among them and others make for a lot of dramatic tension and periodic violence. Those relations are further complicated by the involvement of the cops, headed by Gunn (Katia Winter) whose cooperation with Jakov as the lesser evil of the lot is tenuous, at best. Is she using him to limit the smuggling and body count, or is he using her to unseat the others? Or both? Will she wind up appreciating his relatively low-key approach to the racket or jailing him?

The six 45-minute episodes each cover different years in the decade, as events in Sweden and back home unfold. There are a lot of moving pieces to follow and several compelling side relationships keeping the tenor more human and less geopolitical. I frequently complain that such seasons and miniseries from The Continent run 8-10 episodes when six would be sufficient. This one proves my point, as there’s little fat in the package that lesser producers might have milked for more running (and commercial-selling) time. Performances are excellent all around. The pace and scope of action are above average for such fare. I’m not exactly thrilled with aspects of how the season ends, but the product was engaging enough to make me hope for further developments in the lives of the surviving players.

“Mafia,” in Swedish and Serbo-Croatian with English subtitles, streams on ViaPlay starting June 19, 2025.

RATING: 3 out of 4 stars