The Film:
A sleepy provincial town. When the pillar of stability and a prominent Catholic writer is found brutally murdered with the word "Pig" written on his body inspector Lavardin is once again summoned to the rescue. He slowly unveils a mystery the sleepy town has long protected amidst its deceivingly safe streets. An old flame from his past also surprisingly reappears and the murder mystery inspector Lavardin has to solve quickly evolves into a personal journey with many unknowns.

Completed in 1986 as a sequel to Cop Au Vin this rather predictably structured film from Claude Chabrol once again relies on the subtleties of the detective genre that made the maestro a force in French cinema. In a similar manner Inspector Lavardin also relies on a plot that slowly allows the viewer to assemble the pieces of a mystery that at times rather surprisingly defies all logic. The characters on the other hand are even more eccentric than the ones witnessed in Cop Au Vin and at least until the mystery is solved add a good dose of laugh to an otherwise average story.

It seems like time and time again throughout his career as a director Claude Chabrol consistently delivered harsh critique aimed at the very foundation of French upper class and those that associate themselves with it and naturally Inspector Lavardin is not an exception. The film delivers an unforgiving blow to false morality which society often seems to favor and Chabrol is particularly effective with his camera. In fact, too often it feels as if the mystery which the viewer should be occupied with is only a secondary segment of a much more complicated mosaic of hidden messages. As a result occasionally Inspector Lavardin will drift away in a contemplating mode without logically explaining the actions of its protagonists.

Nothing has really changed in the manner inspector Lavardin carried himself in Cop Au Vin. Once again he is rather eccentric, at times impertinent, and even forceful in his detective methods. When he is faced with a decision that might contradict his investigation inspector Lavardin is willing to use all the necessary methods in order to generate revealing leads. While in Cop Au Vin however he was the leading figure here the inspector actively becomes part of the film in the closing scenes.

If there is anything in Inspector Lavardin that really sets back the film it is the consistent beating on morality and class in general which appear to be marquee themes for Claude Chabrol. There are a few areas of the film such as the scene following the discovery of the dead body at the beach where the film substantially drags. The meticulous class analysis which the director gradually provides immediately after we are presented with the key aspects of the murder mystery somewhat diminish the appeal of an otherwise entertaining detective story.

In addition to the social elements which Claude Chabrol seems to be relying on in his films Inspector Lavardin also offers a heavy dose of comedy mixed with a noticeable satire. There are hilarious moments that compliment the story rather well though ultimately fail to elevate this film to some of Claude Chabrol's more memorable works.

How Does the DVD Look? Offered in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1 and enhanced for widescreen TV's Inspector Lavardin is presented in a deceivingly good looking transfer which appears to be a PAL port of the French MK2 version of the film. There is some noticeable "ghosting" and unlike Cop Au Vin the picture flaws in this DVD release are easily detectable. A very disappointing presentation which proves to me that KINO are not interested in providing deserving transfers for their international releases.(*Please note that the photo provided in this review is a "media-shot" and not a direct screen capture from the DVD)

How Does the DVD Sound? Fairly unimpressive French Dolby Surround track with optional English subtitles the audio presentation is slightly above average. Given the overall poor quality of the disc however I don't see why anyone would be particularly concerned with the (audio) presentation.

Extras: A standard set of extras that are once again (as it was the case with the rest of the Chabrol titles released by KINO) ported from the French MK2 version:

A Presentation by Film Scholar Joel Magny-

Original French Trailer-

Srills Gallery-

Final Words: Nothing new under the sun!! A foreign film with a direct PAL-NTSC mediocre transfer!! While I was somewhat excited to see Cop Au Vin with an average transfer KINO once again slip into a comfortable mode of mediocrity. Until someone realizes that it is not enough to copy PAL transfers in NTSC, without accounting for the format difference, and slap a cheap cover-RENT IT.