I agree with wjspears's excellent review that Maigret working outside of Paris, whether in the country, on the Riviera, or even in another country often provides an excellent story-a story distinct, as it should be, from the congestion of the city of Paris. Here we have Maigret investigating the death of the local post mistress, a woman unliked by the townspeople. He decides to take on the case after receiving a letter from the young son-a child-of the man accused of the murder.
The townspeople may not have cared for the murder victim, but they are even more distant towards the accused (a teacher) and his wife and child. This family is not from there and have never seen to fit in, and the mother has a "past." Maigret doesn't think the man accused to be guilty. And he sets out to prove it. It's his interviews with some of the children that make this episode worth seeing. It's what they witness, what they admit to, what they are asked to do by the adults that eventually leads Maigret to see fully what really happened.
My complaint about this episode is the conclusion. As Simenon's novel ends it is very clear why things happened as they did, the driving motive for the murder, and the series of mis-directions that followed after the murder. In the film some of this is glossed over or ignored. I think it weakens the story and most important weakens the motives of why various townspeople said what they said. Still, this is a nice film and certainly worth seeing.
The townspeople may not have cared for the murder victim, but they are even more distant towards the accused (a teacher) and his wife and child. This family is not from there and have never seen to fit in, and the mother has a "past." Maigret doesn't think the man accused to be guilty. And he sets out to prove it. It's his interviews with some of the children that make this episode worth seeing. It's what they witness, what they admit to, what they are asked to do by the adults that eventually leads Maigret to see fully what really happened.
My complaint about this episode is the conclusion. As Simenon's novel ends it is very clear why things happened as they did, the driving motive for the murder, and the series of mis-directions that followed after the murder. In the film some of this is glossed over or ignored. I think it weakens the story and most important weakens the motives of why various townspeople said what they said. Still, this is a nice film and certainly worth seeing.