Monsignor Renard

I thought this movie was so amazing! The acting was spectacular and the plot and everything about it. I saw it on KLRU on every sunday night that it came on. I think that the last part that the station showed, was the best. I've seen a lot of WWII movies and I have to say this has been the best by far!

When I strolled into the beautiful French village of St. Valerie-sur-Somme as a tourist and saw a group of Nazis chatting on a street corner, I unfortunately did not know that this wonderful miniseries was being filmed. After seeing it on TV a year or so later I was so disappointed that I didn't wait and maybe get a chance to see John Thaw act, or some of the others of the fine cast (I did have a little chat with a "Nazi" extra, who was very friendly, very English and very hot in his woollen uniform in the French summer heat).

Great story about ordinary people in an ordinary little town during extraordinary times. It paints a realistic picture of that period, one in which not all French people were active in the Resistance and not all Germans -or even German soldiers- were bad people. There are shades of good and bad in every character in the series, as is the case in real life. That's what I liked most about this series, as well as the convincing period feel of it. And how nice to hear Germans actually speak German to each other! The English actors trying to pronounce french words and names sounded a bit awkward at times, but the solid acting made up for that. John Thaws performance as Monsignor Renard was great (sadly, the world lost a great actor when he passed away), but the less well-known actors that made up most of the rest of the cast were good too. Sadly only 4 episodes were made, I would have liked to see more of the village and it's people and the way they would have coped with the continuing war (since it was only the very beginning of 1941 when the story ended).

5 out of 5!

Monsignor Renard's only flaw was how abruptly it ended, the show really did feel incomplete and cried out for another series at least. And it probably would have done if it hadn't fallen victim to costs, with location shooting being expensive and the financial crisis at the time, and if John Thaw hadn't died so ultimely two years later. Its cancellation was nothing to do with lack of quality, if remembered correctly from what I read about it it was a ratings success and those who've seen and remember it do so fondly. It is a shame really because Monsignor Renard was a great series; it was very well-made with splendid locations(the scenery is the equal of that in A Year in Provence, another John Thaw gem and also shot in France) and the photography was professional and allowed us to enjoy it. The music was mostly understated while having some searing and suspenseful without being obvious. Monsignor Renard was intelligently scripted and is very thought-provoking; characterisation-wise it doesn't quite avoid stereotypes but the characters are interesting at least and while the Germans are more sympathetic than the French here Monsignor Renard doesn't try to be too one-sided. With the story there was a sense of the uneasiness and tension of the time but also how good the leadership was between the character and there is always room for a good-natured and warm-hearted approach, both of which Monsignor Renard has. The cast play their parts beautifully with the accents more than convincing. Cheryl Campbell, Andrew McCulloch and Dominic Monaghan are great but acting honours do belong to John Thaw in a role that is not quite among his best work(Morse, Kavanagh, The Sweeney, Goodnight Mister Tom) but stands out favourably among his latter work. He is classy and commanding and communicates a lot and sometimes just with his face and eyes. All in all, a great series that deserved a stronger resolution and better chance than what it got. 9/10 Bethany Cox

This film shows most of the horrors of war without being too graphic. The actors portray their characters wonderfully, whether you hate the character or love them. Every character has a depth that seems to be hard to find. You can't help but become emotionally involved.

Of all the TV series dealing with WW2 this one stands out as being very different. For a change Monsignor Renard deals with the everyday lives of a small Northern French village seen through the eyes of it's priest. The Germans are not all seen as the Nazi brutes of common perception, neither are the all the French brave resistance fighters. These are human stories showing how the conquering Germans learned to live with the conquered French and visa verse.

The acting is spot on, I've read that John Thaw was considered wrong for the part, no way, he shines throughout. Spot a young Dominic Monahagn who has gone on to Hollywood stardom in the Lord of the Rings saga amongst others.

It's a shame a second series was not commissioned, IMDb says it was because of low ratings for the first but I think it was more due to John Thaw's declining health, he died in 2002 less than two years after the series was screened.

The premise is still a good one and could be revived for a remake with more than one series. Come on, there must be a production company out there willing to take it on.