For those who can't decide between soaking up some culture and spending all day on the sofa next weekend, a new Belgian prestige series is the perfect compromis à la belge – all in English.
The title of the series - 'This is not a murder mystery' - is a play on the famous surrealist painting by Belgian surrealist painter René Magritte, La Trahison des images (perhaps better known as Ceci n'est pas un pipe - 'This is not a pipe').
The colourful six-parter is set in 1936 and takes viewers along as a young and not-yet-famous Magritte (played by Brussels actor Pierre Gervais) travels to England.
Magritte is among a number of guests – including other pre-fame surrealists such as Salvador Dalí, Lee Miller, and Man Ray – invited to an exclusive art exhibition at a lavish English estate, which provides the magnificent backdrop for this good old-fashioned whodunit with an array of eccentric characters.
Still from 'This is not a murder mystery'. Credit: Panenka
Life imitating art, art imitating life?
The series is an international co-production under the banner of NEW8, the collaboration between the Flemish VRT and seven other European public broadcasters. The series will be aired by all participating public broadcasters, and can also be watched online.
Alongside Gervais as Magritte, a number of well-known Belgian actors (Geert Van Rampelberg and Lauren Versnick) are holding their own next to international talents such as Stephen Tompkinson, Donna Banya, Florence Hall, Jonathan Delaney Tynan, and Mathilde Warnier.
The premise of the series is intriguing. What was supposed to be a debauched meeting between artists quickly descends into a murder mystery when one of the guests is found dead. After a wild night, Magritte wakes up next to the lifeless body of a young artist – in a crime scene made to look like one of his now-famous paintings Les Amants – with no memory of what happened.
Murder scene modelled after Magritte's Les Amants in a still from 'This is not a murder mystery'. Credit: Panenka
Immediately, he is branded the prime suspect. While Scotland Yard launches an investigation and forbids the guests from leaving the estate, Magritte does everything he can to prove his innocence. Meanwhile, attentive viewers can spot more surrealist artworks in every episode, from Dalí's Lobster Phone to Man Ray's The Lips and The Gift.
The series was directed by Belgian director Hans Herbots and written by Christophe Dirickx and Paul Baeten, but benefitted from funding by eight public broadcasters – something which is immediately clear to viewers: from the beautiful estate in the south of England to the careful lighting and dynamic cinematography, the series stands out for its expensive look.
While critics seem to be divided over the actual plot underneath all the shiny surrealist art, they all agree that its dazzling visuals might be enough to spark some viewers' interest in surrealism.
In any case, the Magritte Museum in Brussels should probably brace itself.
'This is not a murder mystery' airs every Sunday evening on VRT 1 for six weeks, but can already be watched (for free) in its entirety on VRT MAX.
Still from 'This is not a murder mystery'. Credit: Panenka
Panenka produced the series in co-production with Flemish public broadcaster VRT, RTL Belgium, Proximus, Deadpan Pictures, and New8, with support from the Flanders Audiovisual Fund, Screen Flanders, screen.brussels, the Brussels-Capital Region, the Belgian Tax Shelter, Screen Ireland, Creative Europe Media, and The Council of Europe Series Co-Productions. STUDIOCANAL handles international distribution.
