Le Chien jaune is a strange, dusty little mystery

Is it worth watching?

If you have a thing for black-and-white mysteries that smell like salt air and cheap tobacco, sure. It’s for the folks who like their detectives grumpy and their plots slow-cooked. If you need explosions or a fast pace like you’d find in The Midnight Limited, you are going to be bored to tears within the first ten minutes. 🐕

There is something about the way the camera just sits there in Concarneau. It doesn’t try to be fancy. It just watches the rain hit the pavement. Honestly, I liked that. It felt less like a movie and more like I was just standing on a street corner watching a guy in a trench coat get annoyed.

Maigret is a strange guy to follow. He doesn’t really do the 'brilliant detective' dance. He mostly just wanders around looking like he’s got a mild headache. That makes the whole investigation feel grounded, I guess. You’re not watching a genius; you’re watching a guy who is just tired of people lying to him.

The dog really is the best character

The yellow dog is everywhere. It shows up in shots where it probably shouldn’t be, looking just as confused as the rest of the cast. There’s a specific scene where the dog just trots past the police line, and the local cops don't even blink. It’s hilarious in a very dry way.

The rest of the town feels like it’s made of cardboard and shadows. I don’t mean that as a bad thing, exactly. It has that stagey, old-movie quality that makes you wonder if they just painted the background while the actors were standing there. It isn't as grand as Cleopatra, but it doesn't need to be.

There is a scene near the middle where the tension feels like it’s going to snap, but then the camera cuts to a shot of a boat for way too long. It’s definitely imperfect. It’s a bit messy. But that’s why it works, I think. It feels like someone actually went out and filmed a story instead of calculating the perfect beats.

• The lighting is mostly just 'dim' and 'dimmer.'
• The police uniforms look like they’ve been slept in for a week.
• Nobody ever seems to be in a hurry, which is a nice change of pace.

It’s not a masterpiece. It’s just a solid, slightly gloomy afternoon watch. Sometimes that’s all you really need.