IT’S CRIMINAL — IN FRENCH
The American crime novelist, Mary Higgins Clark (b: 1927), has had extraordinary career-success with her series of crime books. And the French are especially pleased with her body of work, rewarding her with several major awards.
The three French-language television films on this collection from MHz are professionally handled with no-nonsense adaptations, beautiful cinematography, and taut direction.
DADDY’S LITTLE GIRL (TOI QUE J’AIMAIS TANT)
Did Raphael (Pierre Perrier) commit the crime he was convicted of fifteen years before, the murder of his sixteen-year-old girlfriend, Pauline (Noémie Schmidt)? He is out now and wants to clear his name. But Pauline’s sister, Lisa (Marie Denarnaud), is convinced Raphael is guilty as charged. Determined to thwart his attempts to pin the crime on another, Lisa begins writing a book that will conclusively prove Raphael’s guilt. As she delves deeper into her research, however, she uncovers horrifying facts that shed new light on her sister’s murder. With each discovery she comes closer to a confrontation with a desperate killer. Sylvie Simon adapted the novel and Alain Michel directed.
TWO LITTLE GIRLS IN BLUE (DEUX PETITES FILLES EN BLEU)
Returning home from a black-tie dinner, Julie and Simon Malherbe (Marie Guillard and Stéphan Guérin-Tillié) discover that someone has invaded their home, knocked-out their sitter and kidnapped their twin six-month-old daughters. The ransom demands are complicated by the respiratory problems of the infants. Will the girls be returned alive? The script by Claire Lemaréchal and Yann Le Nivet is riveting, aided by muscular direction from Jean-Marc Thérin.
WHERE ARE YOU NOW? (OŨ ES-TU MAINTENANT?)
A strange yearly occurrence, a reassuring phone message from the decade-long missing son of Olivia Delmas (Ludmila Mikael) on her birthday has convinced her that he is alive and well. But Mathieu’s sister, Caroline (Louise Monot) isn’t so sure and begins an arduous search for him, which will threaten both their lives. Four writers (Yann Le Gal, Chloé Marcais, Stephanie Tchou Cotta and Thierry Debroux) and director Arnaud Séignac keep the suspense up.
All three 90-minute films were produced separately, and only combined by MHz Releasing for this set. Bravo to everyone, too, for making them accessible and mystifying.
Mary Higgins Clark Collection
MHz Networks
French with English subtitles
3 discs | 282 minutes | released on DVD October 18, 2016 | not rated
available at MHz Releasing or Amazon
