'Murder in Brides-les-Bains' - Movie Review

Original French title: "Meurtres à Brides-les-Bains." Another episode of the French TV series "Murder in ..."

As I've mentioned before, the "Murder In" series is inconsistent. The last one I watched ("Murder in Moselle") was possibly the least photogenic of any I've seen, spending all its time in a defunct steel mill. This one is the polar opposite, going full blown travel porn in every shot. (With the perpetual caveat that they overdid the compression on every DVD set so it always looks chunky.) This is filmed in a gorgeous mountain village, where there's a death related to the local spa, and the scruffy new police detective has just arrived back from Africa(?) where he shut down a gold smuggling ring (and got shot). He also doesn't bother to mention that the old woman that knows everyone in town is his Mom - who's also involved with the history of the spa.

The case that eventually takes shape is unduly complex without being more interesting for it. But you can always just enjoy the scenery.