Fri 24 Jan 2020
A TV Episode Review: ART OF CRIME “Une Beauté faite au Naturel: Parties 1 & 2” (2017).
Posted by Steve under Reviews , TV mysteries[3] Comments
ART OF CRIME (L’art du crime). “Une Beauté faite au Naturel: Parties 1 & 2.” France 2 / Gaumont Television / France Télévisions. 17 November 2017. Nicolas Gob (Antoine Verlay), Eléonore Bernheim (Florence Chassagne), Philippe Duclos (Pierre Chassagne). Guest Cast: Miou-Miou, Stéphan Wojtowicz, Louis-Do de Lencquesaing, Venantino Venantini (Leonard de Vinci). Dircetor: Charlotte Brändström.
A man who had been stealing a painting from an old French mansion at night is found stabbed to death, his outstretched pointing to a marker stone with name of Leonard de Vinci engraved upon it. Question: Is it possible that an unknown painting by the Italian master is hidden behind the otherwise worthless painting?
Tackling the case on behalf of the police are two mismatched (of course) detectives, one a street smart cop, Antoine Verlay, now assigned to the department handling crimes of art fraud and theft, and an art historian and authenticator, Florence Chassagne.
They do not get along especially well, but working on the theory that opposites attract, you just know, deep down inside, they will find working together more than the chore it is in this, their very first case together.
Art of the Crime was on for three seasons. Even though I didn’t follow all of the details about the world of art, forgeries, I found the story line fascinating. The amount of money that’s at stake is certainly grounds for many more stories like this one. The color photography is absolutely splendid, especially the scenes in the underground areas of he mansion, where Verlay and Chassagne find themselves temporarily trapped.
And thanks to the latter’s vivid imagination, Leonardo da Vinci himself makes an appearance. What’s not to like?
January 25th, 2020 at 1:19 am
There is a wide variety to choose from these days with all the European crime series around.
January 25th, 2020 at 11:38 am
Back in the 20th Century I watched and enjoyed foreign language films and always wished I could see more countries TV series.
But now such a thing is possible my eyes are slower and I can’t keep up with subtitles. When I had a choice I always chose subtitles, but now I have to settle for English dubs and they are hard to find.
January 25th, 2020 at 1:15 pm
My eyes are not what they used to be either. I am hoping that I can get scheduled for surgery to remove cataracts in both eyes soon. I think that will help. I watched this show on a large 24 inch computer monitor. Sitting less than two feet away and with large subtitles, I had no problems.
Sometimes, though, the subtitles are white on white (not in this case). I hate it when that happens!