Maigret et l'affaire Saint-Fiacre

A detective story of the absolutely classic old-fashioned style, like from Agatha Christie wrote, the kind our grandmothers loved and read before going to bed. At the end, when Maigret gathers the suspects around a table to uncover the villain, I smiled with satisfaction, this is exactly what my old-fashioned soul needed. Commissaire Maigret, or my favourite charismatic Jean Gabin, has swapped the darkened streets of Paris for the countryside, and he is just as good as he was in the previous film. That former was much more dynamic, with more "cinematic" camerawork, whereas the latter goes for explicit dialogue with more sedate shots, which the current younger generation may find unappealing, but I had a great time. It's completely pointless to compare this to Bruno Cremer (I like him too), as many others here do. Each took the role in a completely different way, and in the cinematic Maigret universe, the two complement each other perfectly. (02/09/2024)

What I love about Jean Gabin's Maigret is how he enjoys his beer — a rare sight in France. There’s a scene where he complains about the foam, which a true Czech beer enthusiast might find a bit off-putting. But once he gets a properly poured beer with a nice head, all is forgiven. The plot is delightfully Christie-esque, set in a beautiful château. (02/09/2022)

Maigret and the St. Fiacre Case perfectly fulfills the idea of films for old-timers and moreover, even though it is about a French detective, it also fulfills the idea of the classic British detective school in the style of Agatha Christie. The brilliant detective invites the suspects to one table and in the confrontational finale infallibly exposes the evildoer. This is exactly what doesn't appeal to me, and I prefer the modern crime genre. Jean Gabin is more naturally charismatic rather than fitting into the character of Maigret, and I dare to sacrilegiously claim that in the modern series of adaptations of Georges Simenon, I very much prefer Bruno Cremer as Maigret. Overall impression: 60% for the demonstration of the French film school of the 1950s. (18/08/2015)