Somehow I missed this episode when it ran on television the first time. It's very nice to get out of the clichés of the series - as much as I enjoy them - and see Poirot in his homeland. It's almost like you're getting a feature film version of the television series. The settings are wonderful, and the acting is the usual high quality.
I do have one quibble. The director made the decision to have Poirot speak as he always does in England. Which, of course, makes no sense. As Poirot investigates the case in the flashbacks, he's speaking French, of course - it's translated by the actors for our ears. So you have the other Belgians speaking the King's English, but Poirot is still inserting 'merci's.' Once I realized it, I could only think of Inspector Clouseau and his bad French accent in the Pink Panther movies. Only that was a joke. Here, the director must have decided that the audience is used to hearing Poirot mix French with his English, so he would have to do so here. There is a logic to the decision, but I think it assumes that the audience can't deal with Poirot speaking English like the other French-speaking characters. Personally, I would have trusted the audience, and had Poirot speak proper English during the flashbacks. No doubt, some will disagree.
I do have one quibble. The director made the decision to have Poirot speak as he always does in England. Which, of course, makes no sense. As Poirot investigates the case in the flashbacks, he's speaking French, of course - it's translated by the actors for our ears. So you have the other Belgians speaking the King's English, but Poirot is still inserting 'merci's.' Once I realized it, I could only think of Inspector Clouseau and his bad French accent in the Pink Panther movies. Only that was a joke. Here, the director must have decided that the audience is used to hearing Poirot mix French with his English, so he would have to do so here. There is a logic to the decision, but I think it assumes that the audience can't deal with Poirot speaking English like the other French-speaking characters. Personally, I would have trusted the audience, and had Poirot speak proper English during the flashbacks. No doubt, some will disagree.