THEThe schedule of Channel 5 is enriched with a new title: The mantis, French thriller series with Carole Bouqet, where nothing is left to chance. Composed by 6 episodes, in 2017 it was broadcast in Belgium, France and Switzerland. In Italy it arrived in the same year on Netflix, while now it lands in the clear. The first episode will air this evening, starting from 21.35. The second appointment is scheduled for tomorrow, Wednesday 31 August, and then move on to the grand finale on Monday 5th September.
The mantisthe plot of the French series
Jeanne Deber (Carole Bouquet) is a serial killer, nicknamed The mantis, for, twenty-five years earlier, he terrorized France with heinous crimes. Its victims were men who, in turn, had committed terrible crimes against women and children. Now the news and the judicial authorities deal with a new serial killer, his emulator, just as dangerous.
To understand its movements and tactics, it is proposed to cooperate with the police, in order to find it. After some hesitation, she accepts and leaves the isolation. He therefore begins to work closely with the Commissioner Dominique Ferracci (Pascal Demolon)the same one who arrested her years earlier.
In turn, Ferracci places a condition for collaboration: he asks that his interlocutor be Damien Carrot (Fred Testot), Jeanne’s son, turned undercover cop to redeem the crimes committed by the mother. Mother with whom he has refused any contact since the day of his arrest, as he considers her a person that is anything but pleasant.
The French poster of “The mantis”. (Mediaset)
The difficult relationship between Jeanne and her son Damien
However, it will be obvious from the outset that Damien continues to deal with the presence of the mother figure in his life. An unwelcome presence, which could cause some shocks within his family structure. Since Jeanne’s return, in fact, he tries to navigate between her relationship with her and that of her with wife Lucie (Manon Azem)the woman he is in love with and with whom he is building a life for two.
He will do everything not to damage the balance with Lucie, but soon the woman will begin to want to see clearly, to understand what her husband is hiding from her and why. In this context, with its diktat Damien makes things difficult even for Ferracci, who risks finding himself entangled, in spite of himself, in the mother-son logic.
The collaboration between the mantis and the police continues until the investigations offer a new and completely unexpected picture. The police begin to believe that the killer is a man close to Jeanne and Damien. Are they also victims? Or is one of them involved in the murders? Meanwhile, investigators look for clues and an element found in the computer Baptiste Séverin (Christophe Favre) allows the team to figure out who the next victim will be.
Carole Bouquet in the series “The mantis”. (Mediaset)
Filming in France and the statements of the actress
The filming of The mantis were made in France, in the Île-de-France region. In particular, among the locations used, the renowned Château de Villette stands out, located within the municipality of Condécourt. In the series she turns into the prison where Jeanne is serving her sentence.
With this project, the actress moves away from most of the characters she has always played, to experiment with new registers. She is herself a explain why he chose to participate in the French series and the reason has to do with Jeanne Deber. “What I like about my character, despite being monstrous, is that he tries to recover the bond – which he thought was forever destroyed – with his own son.”
Therefore, it is not lacking the humanization of the bad character. An extra element to involve the public and keep them in suspense until the last episode.
Carole Bouquet at the Cannes Film Festival 2022. (Getty Images)
Carole Bouquet and the bond with Pantelleria
Born in 1957, Carole Bouquet is one of the French actresses who have established themselves on the international scenealso thanks to the film For your eyes onlyin which he interpreted the Bond girl Melina Havelock, next to Roger Moore. Linked from 2014 to Philippe Sereys de Rotschildin the past had a long relationship with Gérard Depardieuwhich lasted from 1997 to 2005.
Even before that, she was engaged to the photographer and director Francis Giacobetti, with whom she had the second son, Louisborn in 1987. The first child, however, Dimitriwas born in 1981 from his marriage to producer Jean-Pierre Rassam, who passed away in 1985. Today Dimitri is a film producerrisen to the headlines also for the marriage with Charlotte Casiraghidaughter of Caroline of Monaco.
In addition to the bond with the native land and with the Monegasque family, Bouquet has maintained for more than thirty years a very close relationship with Italy. The favorite place of the beautiful country is Pantelleriawhere it produces the famous Passito. For the actress, Sicily proved to be the perfect place “to put my roots”, he told Ansa in 2015. “I came (here) to be born again.”
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