This is a series I watched last week and I thought I'd post a review about it as it was really good and those who like the interwar period and detective stories as well, might like to give it a shot. I love them both, so here I am with the review.
Summer of 36 is a limited series, has only one season which consists of six episodes. It's the perfect length for a nice story and I appreciate the writers didn't want to ruin it by making it longer, as it happens so often these days.
Nice, 1936. The elite vacationing on the Côte d'Azur are disturbed by workers enjoying their first paid holidays. Four women from different classes become entangled in a murder at the luxurious Riviera Hotel.
Before we go on, I need to specify that my French is not up to day, it's been ages since I last spoke or used French, so for a better experience I chose English dubbing, which is important because sometimes it can ruin the whole series or movie, or it can add to its value and thank God, here I got the latter. It's really good I must admit.
The storyline says four women from different classes become entangled in a murder, but I'd update that to four women from different classes become entangled in a murder in a different way, but more about it later.
The 30's were still the times when women had limited rights or let's just say, were not treated equally, which is why getting hired in key positions was out of the question.
Constance Gay is playing Léonie Morel, a young woman arriving to Nice and taking a role in the local police force, as police assistant. This usually means filing papers and other office tasks, but Léonie Morel is capable of much more. Her skills become obvious from the start and even though the police chief is suspicious and skeptical, still let's her do what she does best, investigate. Léonie's ambition is not fueled exclusively by her professional aspirations, she has ulterior motives to do this work in Nice, which are way bigger than her professional aspirations.
Filmmakers like to cover such topics and even though this series is not the same, still make me think of Miss Scarlet, Frankie Drake Mysteries, Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries and Ms Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries, just to name a few.
The four women, the main characters could not be any different, which makes the whole series more interesting. It's not the first of this genre that I see, and no matter how many I watch, this type of story will never make me bored.
Léonie Morel as mentioned above, is working as a police assistant but she also has her own investigation as her father is accused of murder, awaiting execution. This is not the only crime in the series, there are other cases too, obviously that are connected in one way or another. The prosecutor handling the case of her father gets murdered as well and guessing starts regarding who had a motive and opportunity to do it. What I loved about it was how the story writers plant seeds of doubt in the viewers' mind.
She manages to make progress with her investigation and as the story is from 1936, you can imagine investigations were very different from what an investigation means today. It is interesting to watch the methods they were using back in those days. You have to switch your brain off from always noticing the small details, like leaving fingerprints everywhere, or picking a lock and not worrying about cameras, as there were none back then and then you'll love it.
[](https://www.kino-teatr.ru/kino/acter/w/euro/192129/foto/m210484/1856531/
It is the type of series where you have a new suspect every 15 minutes and most of the characters come under suspicion during the six episodes for some reason. It's a nice mind game and the ending really original. It caught my by surprise, I'm not going to lie.
From moral point of view, the series deviates from what is the right thing to do these days (and should have been back then as well), but it's a series, not a real life story.
The costumes and locations were carefully selected to make you feel the vibes of those times and the case is remarkable too, I have no complaints in this regard.
Give it a try if you like movies from those times. You won't regret it. It's a slow paced story, perfect for nights when your brain needs rest.
Rating: 90/100
Originally posted through scrobble.life/tv.
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