Laetitia (2020)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Laetitia is a French historical drama – a miniseries with six episodes - which premiered in France in 2020. In 2021, it was shown on US television (HBO).

 

An on-screen message placed at the beginning of each episode explains that this is a fictional story based on true facts.

 

Laetitia is a young woman born in May 1992. In January 2011, when she is 18 years old, she is kidnapped and killed by a man who is much older than her.

 

This drama covers the life and death of Laetitia. It also covers the official investigation of the case.

 

Laetitia was kidnapped and murdered in a small village near Nantes in the mid-western part of France. But the case was widely reported by the media and it became an event of national importance.

 

Here is some basic information about this drama:

 

** Director: Jean-Xavier de Lestrade

** Writers: Jean-Xavier de Lestrade and Antoine Lacomblez

** Based on the book Laetitia ou la fin des hommes by Ivan Jablonka (2016)

** Language: French

** Subtitles: English

** Run time: 6 x 45 minutes = 270 minutes

 

The cast includes the following:

 

** Marie Colomb as Laetitia Perrais - a twin

** Sophie Breyer as Jessica Perrais - a twin

** Yannick Choirat as Frantz Touchais - a friend

** Alix Poisson as Beatrice Prieur – a social worker

 

** Sam Karmann as Gilles Patron – foster father

** Clotilde Mollet as Michelle Patron – foster mother

** Kevin Azais as Franck Perrais – father of the twins

** Chloe Andre as Sylvie Larcher – mother of the twins

 

** Noam Morgensztern as Toni Meilhon – the perpetrator

** Cyril Descours as judge Martinot

** Luna Carpiaux as Lola - a friend

** François Raison as procurator Ronsin

 

Since this drama is based on a true story, the basic facts are part of the public record. They are not a secret. This is why I feel free to mention some of them here.

 

While this drama is based on a true story, it is not a documentary film. It is a dramatized version of events. Not everything happened exactly as shown here.

 

Some details may have been added, altered or excluded for dramatic reasons or practical purposes. But the basic story is true.

 

Laetitia and Jessica were born on the same day: 04 May 1992. They are not only sisters. They are twins.

 

Growing up, they have to face many problems. Their lives are filled with turbulence.

 

At first, they live with both parents. But this is not going well, because the father is a violent man who abuses their mother. When he is arrested and sent to prison, the twins live with their mother for a while.

 

When the mother cannot cope, the twins live with their grandmother for a while. When the father is released from prison, they live with him for a while, but this is not going well. He does not allow them to visit their mother.

 

In 2005, the twins are placed with a foster family, Gilles and Michelle Patron, a couple who do not have any children of their own.

 

When the twins are 18, they are both training for a job and they are getting ready to leave the foster home and start their own lives.

 

During the night of 18-19 January 2011, disaster strikes: Laetitia disappears. Her motorbike is found on the road near the gate to the house, but there is no sign of her. 

 

They call her phone, but there is no answer. Where is she? What happened to her?

 

An extensive search begins. When it is clear that a serious crime has been committed, a criminal investigation begins.

 

In this film, there are three story-lines which are intertwined:

 

# 1. The lives of the twins 1992-2010

# 2. The kidnapping and the killing of Laetitia (2011)

# 3. The investigation of the crime (from 2011 and forward)

 

The drama covers six different aspects of the case in order to show the impact this crime had on different groups and different institutions:

 

# 1. The biological family

# 2. The foster family

# 3. The social services

# 4. The police

# 5. The judicial system

# 6. The government of France 

(the French President Nicolas Sarkozy mentions the case in a public speech more than once)

 

The director does not cover the story in a linear fashion. The three story-lines and the six different aspects of the case are intertwined with each other.

 

In the beginning, this may seem a bit confusing, but after a while it is no longer a problem; after a while, the viewer is able to understand where we are and what is going on.

 

Was Laetitia ever found?

 

Yes.

 

The criminal investigation showed she had been strangled and stabbed more than forty times. The killer had dismembered her body and disposed of the parts in two different locations.

 

On 01 February 2011, the head and the limbs were found in a small lake named Trou Bleu.

 

On 09 April 2011, the trunk was found in a small lake named Briord.

 

Was the killer ever found?

 

Yes.

 

The killer was identified quite fast. 

 

A witness reported what he saw in the night of 18-19 January 2011. The witness saw Laetitia argue with a man outside a restaurant. Laetitia had a scooter, while the man had a car.

 

When the argument was over, the witness saw Laetitia drive away on her scooter, while the man followed her in his car.

 

Laetitia was on the way home. The man was following in his car. Just before she reached her home, the man hit her scooter with his car. The scooter was knocked over and Laetitia fell to the ground.

 

The man stopped his car. He picked up Laetitia who was still alive but knocked out. He placed her in the trunk of his car and drove home.

 

When he reached his home, he carried her inside. Once inside, she was strangled and stabbed. Later her body was dismembered. The man disposed of the parts in two different locations.

 

The man was identified as Tony Meilhon (born 1979). He was already known to the police. He had served time in prison more than once for some minor crimes. He was arrested on 20 January 2011.

 

When arrested, he confessed and then he denied any wrongdoing. This happened several times.

 

The police found forensic evidence in his car and his home which proved that Laetitia had been in his car and that she had been killed in his home.

 

In 2013, Tony Meilhon was tried in a court of law where he was found guilty. He was sentenced to life in prison. 

 

He appealed to a higher court. The verdict and the sentence were confirmed by a higher court in 2015. Apparently, he has to serve at least 22 years in prison.

 

What do reviewers say about this drama?

 

Here are some results:

 

75 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the audience)

70 percent = IMDb

 

Ten user reviews are posted on IMDb.

 

Here are the headlines and the ratings offered:

 

100 percent

** A must watch

 

80 percent

** Narration

** Thank you, France!

** Very difficult to understand the English subtitles

 

70 percent

** A bit slow but good

** Intense crime drama from France

 

50 percent

** Fizzled at the end

** Pathetic subtitles and some overacting

** Annoying narration; character plot flaw

 

40 percent?

This review has no rating – but it is very negative

** The narration

 

When this historical drama was shown on US television (HBO), the default setting was apparently a version with audio description. This was most unfortunate. 

 

Some viewers complain about this. One viewer explains how to turn off the audio description.

 

Some viewers are very upset, because this is a foreign movie (it is not in English). They have to read subtitles and they do not like this.

 

This means the low scores are caused by a technical problem. The scores are not low, because the drama has a low quality.

 

The serious ratings are quite good. The negative reviews can be discounted, because they are caused by a technical problem and not because the drama deserves a poor rating.

 

I understand the positive reviews and I agree with them. The story is important. It deserves to be told, and in this drama, it is done very well.

 

I want to go all the way to the top with this drama. I think it deserves a rating of five stars (100 percent).

 

PS. Jean-Xavier de Lestrade is a well-known French filmmaker. He is the director or producer or writer of several films, including the following:

 

** Une Australie blanche et pure (1998)

** Murder on a Sunday Morning (2000)

** L’affaire Dubois (2004)

** Sin City Law (2008)

** The Staircase (2013)

** Malaterra (2015)

** Sambres: Anatomy of a Crime (2023)

 

REFERENCES

 

Laetitia ou la fin des hommes

By Ivan Jablonka

(2016)

 

Pam Grady,

“Laetitia Review,”

Alliance of Women Film Journalists

07 February 2020

 

John Anderson,

“Laetitia Review: Brutal Crime, Swift Action, Deep Drama,”

Wall Street Journal

26 August 2021

This article is placed behind a paywall

 

Aghst

“Laetitia – General Discussion,”

Primetimer

28 August 2021

 

Mike Hale,

“Review: Laetitia, a French True-Crime Gem, Comes to HBO,”

New York Times

29 August 2021

 

Pratik Handore,

“Is Laetitia a True Story,”

The Cinemaholic

30 August 2021

 

Gina Tron,

“An absolute Innocent: The True Tragic Tale Behind HBO’s New Series Laetitia,”

Oxygen – True Crime

31 August 2021

 

*****

 

Laetitia ou la fin des hommes

By Ivan Jablonka

(2016)

 

*****

A silent march in Bernerie en Retz

to remember Laetitia

18 January 2012

 

*****

 

 

Sambre: Anatomy of a Crime (2023)

 

 

 

 

 

Sambre: Anatomy of a Crime is the English title of a French historical drama – a miniseries with six episodes – which premiered in France in 2023. In 2024, it was shown on British television (BBC)

 

An on-screen message placed at the beginning of each episode explains that this is a fictional story based on true events.

 

This is the story about a serial rapist who operated in the northern part of France and, occasionally, across the border in Belgium.

 

More than fifty women were attacked by this person over a period of thirty years (1988-2018).

 

In most cases, he used the same modus operandi: 

 

He was wearing a ski mask, so it was not easy to identify him. He attacked his victim from behind, so she was surprised. He threw a rope around her neck and pulled so hard that she nearly choked.

 

He had a pocket knife which he threatened to use if she tried to resist. When he was done, he left the victim on the ground and walked away.

 

Most of his victims were attacked very early in the morning while they were walking on a road which runs along the River Sambre. Hence the title of the drama.

 

Here is some basic information about this drama:

 

** Creator and director: Jean-Xavier de Lestrade

** Writers: Alice Géraud and Marc Herpoux

** Based on a book by Alice Géraud

** Language: French

** Subtitles: English

** Run time: 6 x 50 minutes = 300 minutes

 

The cast includes the following:

 

** Alix Poisson as Christine Labot – the first victim

** Jonathan Turnbull as Enzo Salina – the rapist

** Louise Orry-Diquero as Stephanie Salina – Enzo’s wife

** Olivier Gourmet as Etienne Winckler – the commandant

 

** Julien Frison as Jean-Pierre Blanchot – a police officer

** Pauline Parigot as Irène Dereux – the judge

** Noemie Lvovsky as Arlette Caruso – the mayor

** Clemence Poésy as Cécile Dumont – the scientist

 

Since this drama is based on a true story, the basic facts are part of the public record. They are not a secret. This is why I feel free to mention some of them here.

 

While this drama is based on a true story, it is not a documentary film. It is a dramatized version of events. Not everything happened exactly as shown here.

 

Some details may have been added, altered or excluded for dramatic reasons or practical purposes. But the basic story is true.

 

The story of the Sambre rapist is told in a linear fashion. This means the story begins in 1988 in the first episode and it ends in 2018 in the final episode.

 

But while the story moves forward - step by step - the six episodes are arranged in a special way. Each episode focuses on one person who is somehow involved in this case. Here are the headlines of the six episodes:

 

# 1. Christine – the first victim

# 2. Irène – the judge

# 3. Arlette – the mayor

# 4. Cécile – the scientist

# 5. Winckler – the commandant

# 6. Enzo – the rapist

 

The identity of the rapist is revealed to the viewers quite early, but the identity is not known to any other character in the drama. Some of them are close to him, but they are not aware of his secret role as a serial rapist.

 

For thirty years, his identity was unknown. For thirty years, the official investigation failed to identify and arrest him. For thirty years, the authorities were unable to solve this case.

 

How was he able to get away with this? How could he commit so many crimes without being caught?

 

The first reason

He was careful and lucky. He always chose a deserted place with no witnesses. He did not leave any clues which might reveal his identity. There were no fingerprints. There was no physical evidence.

 

The second reason

The local police force was lazy and did not operate in a professional way. Especially in the early years.

 

Some police officers did not want to open a new case when a woman reported a rape

 

Some police officers were reluctant to believe the statements made by victims

 

Some police officers were not keen to conduct a serious investigation when a women reported a crime

 

Some police officers did not want to accept the fact that these crimes were committed by the same person

 

When a victim was interviewed, the police officer would sometimes ask hostile questions. The victim was not given any support or comfort. The victim felt the police officer blamed the victim for what happened.

 

After a while, the police force had to accept the fact that a serial rapist was operating in their area. Once they accepted this fact, they created a profile of the suspect.

 

According to the profile, he was an outsider and not a local person, because if he was a local person, somebody would know him. He had to come from another area.

 

According to the profile, he was single. He was a lonely person who lived alone or with his parents. He did not have any friends. He did not have any social skills.

 

According to the profile, he committed these crimes, because he was a lonely person who did not know how to make friends and how to communicate well with other people.

 

When the perpetrator was finally identified and arrested, it became clear that the profile was totally wrong and this flaw was, in fact, one reason why the police had been unable to identify him and catch him for so many years.

 

The flawed profile prevented the police from conducting an efficient investigation. The profile was not helpful at all. On the contrary, it made it more difficult to solve the case.

 

How and why was the criminal caught? How and why was the case solved? In 2018, he made a mistake. In 2018, he made a careless move.

 

He used his own car. He parked his car in a car park not far from the location where he was going to attack a victim.

 

From the car park he walked to the location which was a deserted place.

 

Having completed his attack, he returned to his car. He got into his car and drove home.

 

He did not realise that the car park was covered by a surveillance camera. The police knew exactly when the attack took place. They suspected the criminal had used a car to get to the area. Maybe he had parked his car in a car park near the scene of the crime.

 

When they checked the footage recorded around the time of the attack, they found what they were looking for. They found what they needed.

 

A man had parked his car in the car park shortly before the attack happened. He walked away. He returned to his car shortly after the crime was committed and drove away.

 

Nobody else entered or left the car park around that time. It had to be the rapist. When they looked at the footage, police officers were able to identify the car and the license plate.

 

Who was the owner of this car? When they saw the name and the address of the owner, they could not believe what they saw. They already knew him!

 

Having identified the rapist, they had to arrest him. Once they arrested him, they found the rope and the pocket knife he had used during his attacks in the glove compartment of his car.

 

Now they had some physical evidence. Confronted with the evidence discovered, the criminal realised the game was over. He confessed to some of his numerous crimes.

 

The criminal did not fit the profile. He was a family man. He had a wife and children. He had a job. He had friends. One of his friends was a police officer.

 

In his free time, he was a football coach for the local football team. Many parents in the village knew him as the football coach.

 

Nobody suspected anything. Over a period of thirty years, he had been able to avoid detection. Many people thought they knew him. They were shocked when they realised that this was not the case at all.

 

In the drama, the name of the serial rapist is Enzo Salina. The name has been altered. Perhaps for legal reasons. The real name of the criminal is Dino Scala.

 

In 2022, four years after his arrest, he was tried in a court of law where he was found guilty of committing dozens of rapes and sexual assaults in northern France and across the border in Belgium. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

 

What do reviewers say about this drama?

 

On IMDb it has a rating of 80 percent

 

Ten user reviews are posted on this website.

 

Here are the headlines and the ratings offered:

 

100 percent

** Exceptional

** Shocking, powerful story

** The best foreign language show ever

 

90 percent

** Compelling

** Across all episodes, top-notch programming

 

80 percent

** Powerful, harrowing and exceptional

** Really unbelievable and infuriating

** Shocking, but essential viewing

** The victims’ impact statement

** This was great. Thank you, BBC

 

Five of the ten user reviews offer a rating which is the same as the rating offered by the website. Five of the ten user reviews offer a rating which is higher than the rating offered by the website.

 

I understand the numerous positive reviews and I agree with them. The story is important. It deserves to be told, and in this drama, it is done very well.

 

I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars (100 percent).

 

PS. Jean-Xavier de Lestrade is a well-known French filmmaker. He is the director or producer or writer of several films, including the following:

 

** Murder on a Sunday Morning (2000)

** Laetitia (2020)

 

REFERENCES

 

Sambre

By Alice Géraud

(2023)

 

Rebecca Nicholson,

“Sambre: Anatomy of a Crime Review,”

The Guardian

31 August 2024

This review offers a positive rating:

Four of five stars (80 percent)

 

Helen Hawkins,

“Sambre: Anatomy of a Crime, BBC Four Review,”

The Arts Desk

10 September 2024

 

*****

 

The well-known French filmmaker

Jean-Xavier de Lestrade

(born 1963)

 

*****