Started out really well. Atmospheric, tense, all these pieces to the puzzle. But it came together in sheer ridiculousness. How everyone supposedly knew each other was so increasingly implausible. And the police constantly being one step behind the central characters who are one step behind the kids! Nobody can find this man and this kid whacks out her laptop with the man's name and says to her mum 'I Googled daddy's name with the names of the other people'. Very disappointing.
11 Reviews
Complex and engrossing and I love Virginie Ledoyen
gridoon202414 July 2021
Engrossing, intricately plotted, well-made multi-character mystery loaded with twists and turns. Like "El Inocente", the recent Spanish hit which led me to this mini-series via Harlan Coben, attention must be paid at all times but rest assured that by the end nearly all of your questions will be answered. Virginie Ledoyen always has been & still is one of the most beautiful women in the world and I just love looking at her, but the shining star of the series is Jimmy Jean-Louis, who has a genuinely intimidating physical presence (he would be perfect as a henchman in a James Bond movie). The 4th episode is a little filler-ish, but other than that, a terrific show. *** out of 4.
Not my favorite Harlan Coben
altereggo12327 April 2020
I'm a huge Harlan Coben fan, but I didn't love this. There were the shortcuts-a slightly autistic child who conveniently has a perfect memory for license plates, a family friend who just happens to be an expert computer hacker. These are not spoilers. The child reveals his memory for license plates in the beginning, so we just sit there waiting for it to come in handy. It's also never a good sign when investigators miss incredibly basic information that can be found via Google. The relationship between the mafia-like "protector" and the angelic heroine is something that could only happen in a very schlocky mystery. There is also a hitman in this whose methods defy logic. There is also at least one problem that I can't reveal lest it give away too much, but it's kind of a dealbreaker for me. (I have a feeling there are actually a few--you may find your own.) It is a twisty tale, but, by the end, perhaps too twisty. I know a good mystery is hard to create, but this series should have tried harder.
a woman forced to confront her past
myriamlenys5 November 2020
Warning: Spoilers
A worried woman discovers that her husband has gone missing, for reasons which seem rooted deep into the past. The disappearance forces her to re-discover and re-examine her own past, including a participation in a harrowing event known as "the tragedy of the Catacombs". Somehow everything seems linked to a well-attended pop concert going wrong in the most disastrous of manners...
"Juste un regard" is a mix of thriller and drama. It has a clever and elaborate plot which, perhaps, is too busy for its own good. The result reminds one of an over-designed dress forcing the viewer to admire a dozen features all at once. Whoo, look, it's got a jewelled collar ! An an asymmetric hem ! And a red-and-white "leopard" print ! And unusual bat sleeves ! And an embroidered belt ! And lace buttons ! And little rows of feathers down the back !
It's a pity because the basic theme is interesting, to wit the way in which a disaster continues the haunt the memories, especially when that disaster was the result of some kind of human negligence or malevolence. In the series, you get scores of once-unremarkable citizens driven to extremes of sorrow and hatred ; you also get scores of once-unremarkable citizens trying to make sense, obsessively, of the various circumstances surrounding the event which killed their beloved relative. You also get a shocked public which tries to comprehend the problem by focusing on a few individuals and assigning them very specific roles : individual X becomes the despicable culprit, individual Y becomes the innocent bystander, individual Z becomes the angelic hero (or heroine). Here the series often achieves a remarkable realism.
The music isn't bad and I quite liked the "Pale Ink" song played during the fateful concert.
I've got to admit that I started watching the series under the mistaken assumption that the "Catacombs" catastrophe had been suggested by a real-life French tragedy. It was only later that I noticed the series was based on a Harlan Coben book, which seems to indicate a different source of inspiration. The tragedy I had been thinking of was the 1970 Club Cinq-Sept fire, in Saint-Laurent-du-Pont, Isère, France. The 5/7 case remains sadly notorious, both for its horror and for the seemingly endless list of failures, evasions and shortcuts regarding fire safety uncovered during the enquiry. For instance, people died piled high around "exits" which had been deliberately padlocked and barred, or which had been specifically designed to allow movement in one direction only.
By now half a century has passed and all over the world there still occur disasters in nightclub or concert venues caused by similar factors. The human race does not seem to learn all that quickly...
"Juste un regard" is a mix of thriller and drama. It has a clever and elaborate plot which, perhaps, is too busy for its own good. The result reminds one of an over-designed dress forcing the viewer to admire a dozen features all at once. Whoo, look, it's got a jewelled collar ! An an asymmetric hem ! And a red-and-white "leopard" print ! And unusual bat sleeves ! And an embroidered belt ! And lace buttons ! And little rows of feathers down the back !
It's a pity because the basic theme is interesting, to wit the way in which a disaster continues the haunt the memories, especially when that disaster was the result of some kind of human negligence or malevolence. In the series, you get scores of once-unremarkable citizens driven to extremes of sorrow and hatred ; you also get scores of once-unremarkable citizens trying to make sense, obsessively, of the various circumstances surrounding the event which killed their beloved relative. You also get a shocked public which tries to comprehend the problem by focusing on a few individuals and assigning them very specific roles : individual X becomes the despicable culprit, individual Y becomes the innocent bystander, individual Z becomes the angelic hero (or heroine). Here the series often achieves a remarkable realism.
The music isn't bad and I quite liked the "Pale Ink" song played during the fateful concert.
I've got to admit that I started watching the series under the mistaken assumption that the "Catacombs" catastrophe had been suggested by a real-life French tragedy. It was only later that I noticed the series was based on a Harlan Coben book, which seems to indicate a different source of inspiration. The tragedy I had been thinking of was the 1970 Club Cinq-Sept fire, in Saint-Laurent-du-Pont, Isère, France. The 5/7 case remains sadly notorious, both for its horror and for the seemingly endless list of failures, evasions and shortcuts regarding fire safety uncovered during the enquiry. For instance, people died piled high around "exits" which had been deliberately padlocked and barred, or which had been specifically designed to allow movement in one direction only.
By now half a century has passed and all over the world there still occur disasters in nightclub or concert venues caused by similar factors. The human race does not seem to learn all that quickly...
[6.5] Pecking grains
cjonesas21 July 2022
Warning: Spoilers
A series which combines uninteresting, unrealistic and nonsensical scenes and plots from the first episode to the last.
The acting is semi-good as is the score and some filming. The rest better not to talk about. The incompetent, rookie-like and frightened police inspector with her more incompetent colleagues were dismal to watch.
The show heavily lacks in realism and is as interesting to watch as hens pecking grains. What was realistic were the policemen making the arrests.
The villains were more than good but that wasn't nearly enough, even if they stood next to each other and did their villainous things. A show doesn't consist only of villains unfortunately.
See, I don't even talk about the beautiful yet insipid Virginie Ledoyen. She has a beautiful and lively smile though.
The worst French series that I've watched until now. Moving on.
The acting is semi-good as is the score and some filming. The rest better not to talk about. The incompetent, rookie-like and frightened police inspector with her more incompetent colleagues were dismal to watch.
The show heavily lacks in realism and is as interesting to watch as hens pecking grains. What was realistic were the policemen making the arrests.
The villains were more than good but that wasn't nearly enough, even if they stood next to each other and did their villainous things. A show doesn't consist only of villains unfortunately.
See, I don't even talk about the beautiful yet insipid Virginie Ledoyen. She has a beautiful and lively smile though.
The worst French series that I've watched until now. Moving on.
Tense Thriller
emcebe18 March 2018
A bit disappointing
gurumaggie14 June 2020
I had a much better plot in my mind, the cast were if I'm truthful too old in the flashbacks, Bastien starts college looking 40, the plot had more twists than a bag of fusilli but unlike fusilli not all good.
I have not yet read a Harlen Coben book but I might now, the cast were good if old, but like fast food after tearing the wrapper off I was left unsatisfied.
I have not yet read a Harlen Coben book but I might now, the cast were good if old, but like fast food after tearing the wrapper off I was left unsatisfied.
Just one Look
Tweekums16 March 2020
Eva Beaufils is happily married with two children; then one day she finds an old photograph of four people. One of them she recognises as her husband. She asks him about it and he claims it isn't him. Shortly afterwards he is kidnapped. As she tries to discover what happened to him she learns many things about him and herself; with possible connections to tragic events fifteen years previously.
I really enjoyed this French crime drama, based on a book by Harlan Coben. The mystery starts early on and gets deeper as the story progresses; as one question is answered another is raised. It must be admitted that the viewer does have to suspend their disbelief at times... some of the fifteen year old secrets would have been almost impossible to keep for that long, especially given how easily some are uncovered at the point required by the plot. Thankfully the tension is kept high enough that it is easy to overlook them while actually watching. The cast does a solid job, most notably Virginie Ledoyen as Eva and Thierry Neuvic as her husband Bastien. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to fans of crime dramas with plenty of twists, so long as you can overlook the more farfetched moments.
These comments are based on watching the series in French with English subtitles.
I really enjoyed this French crime drama, based on a book by Harlan Coben. The mystery starts early on and gets deeper as the story progresses; as one question is answered another is raised. It must be admitted that the viewer does have to suspend their disbelief at times... some of the fifteen year old secrets would have been almost impossible to keep for that long, especially given how easily some are uncovered at the point required by the plot. Thankfully the tension is kept high enough that it is easy to overlook them while actually watching. The cast does a solid job, most notably Virginie Ledoyen as Eva and Thierry Neuvic as her husband Bastien. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to fans of crime dramas with plenty of twists, so long as you can overlook the more farfetched moments.
These comments are based on watching the series in French with English subtitles.
The worse french series i have ever seen
n_mosadegh1 October 2018
I am a big fan of french films and series but to me this show was between bolywood and hollywwood. Not worth watching!
Police was dumb! The woman discovers evetything on her own even those small kids google something to get the truth about the dad but not the police. Those kids give the google result to police! Even when people are under arrest police not interviewing them. They interviewed by victims sister or brothers to make revenge.
Bad poeple .. ugly dark face
Good people..beatiful face
Series finished with some unknown unsolved parts. ..
Very good
eradancemusic23 May 2021
C' EST MERDE
alanl06-662-7702014 March 2020
I have never been been a fan of the writer whose work I have always considered as , not very well written throwaway fiction ( I cant even grade it as Pulp Fiction which would be to denigrate GOOD pulp fiction ) In fairness however , Channel 4 in the UK has a great section of WORLD FICTION and some are EXCELLENT , especially a couple of Polish ones and Scandinavian ones and that includes some others by the same writer which were worthy of at least 6/10 and despite this mess of a series I may well risk another one
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