FRENCH WHODUNIT
Anatomy of a Fall ($ Amazon Prime, Apple TV)
This is the third excellent new movie we’ve watched this season. Sandra, her husband, and their son Daniel are at home in Switzerland. Sandra, a writer, is being interviewed. A thud is heard. Investigation reveals the body of a man lying in the grass. How did he get there?
This French film, much of it in English with subtitles when French is spoken, is a fascinating and occasionally suspenseful examination of what or who caused the man’s death. It’s also an excavation of a marriage, a fractured one with issues and disappointments. One spouse has been more successful than the other, and their son had an accident which compromised his capabilities.
French filmmakers like dialogue so perhaps some viewers might wish it were more concisely written. Nonetheless, the Chief Penguin and I were fully engaged. The courtroom scenes with a cool and calm Sandra are especially compelling. Highly recommended!
CRIME IN GOTLAND
Murder in Sweden, Season 2 (Prime Video)
Titled, Maria Wern abroad, Murder in Sweden is an outstanding crime series. Lead inspector Maria is a youngish widow and mother of a son and a daughter. She’s also in a developing relationship with her colleague, junior detective Sebastian. The rest of the team consists of two other men, Ek and Arvidsson; a tech person, and their boss Hartman. Together they tackle challenging cases from chilling attacks on a politician, to death at a teen party, to the strange illness of a man on a plane claiming a murder has been committed.
The cases have a dark side that can be hard to watch. One of the most unsettling ones concerns online bullying and threats to Maria’s son’s high school class. Over the course of the season, Maria both learns more and has more questions about her policeman husband’s death ten years before.
Each case is solved in two episodes and there are 8 episodes total. In my opinion, Season 2 is better than Season 1, which I also watched. Recommended!
LUNCH OUT
Indian fare near Venice
Our good friend in Venice invited us down for lunch at Tikka Indian Cuisine. This is a popular small restaurant located in a strip mall on the 41 Bypass with a Big Lots. We were advised to arrive early as it quickly fills up. And indeed, we got there about 11:15 and by noon, it was almost full. When we finished, folks were lined up at the door awaiting tables.
The lunch menu offers a selection of appetizers (samosas and the like) and combo lunches. Combos include your choice of entrée with sides of rice, naan, and chef-selected appetizer and dessert. We three ordered the korma, rogan josh, and vindaloo, all with chicken. Other options were lamb, shrimp, paneer cheese, or vegetable. The korma was appropriately mild, my rogan josh was medium spicy which was plenty of hotness for me, and the Chief Penguin bravely went for the vindaloo. Even at medium level, it was very spicy—but then vindaloos are typically the hottest of Indian curries.
Each combo was served on a thali (round metal tray). The day’s appetizer was a generously sized samosa and the dessert a rice pudding. For vegetarians, there are several main dishes including yellow lentils, chickpeas, and a potato and cauliflower dish. And if you dine in the evening, you can select from several tandoori dishes including one with salmon that our friend recommends. Yum!
