Polar Park on Arte: a jubilant series (review)

Twelve years after Poupoupidou, Gérald Hustache-Mathieu mischievously twists his frosty thriller mixed with cold humor. On the trail of the author of a series of murders, Jean-Paul Rouve and Guillaume Gouix delve again. U.S. too.

“ Rewind. Reset the tape. Start the whole story again “, spear Jean-Paul Rouve in the shoes of the writer David Rousseau, in one of the last scenes of Poupoupidou. More than ten years after the release of his film, Gérald Hustache-Mathieu took his character at his word. With Polar Parkthe director embarks on a surprising rewriting of his feature film in serial format, giving it another dimension.

For those who set foot in his universe for the first time, the filmmaker composes here a delightful offbeat thriller, under the influence Twin Peaks but not only that, where a writer and a policeman team up to confound a killer. His script scrutinizes a whole section of pop culture, to which he regularly glances, without the series ever sinking into caricature. For others, who know his first film inside out, he tried his hand at a nice stylistic exercise. Polar Park revisits the original film in every corner, breaks down its matrix and picks up elements of the storyline, little by little, to better free itself from it.

David Rousseau, the novelist lacking inspiration, is there, still in the guise of Rouve, faithful to the post. Guillaume Gouix returns as a local cop, more in-depth than during his first appearance. Besides, everything changes. Responding to the call of a monk, Rousseau this time finds himself involved in a series of carefully staged murders which could well inspire this new novel that he so hopes to write.

Rich in abyss and play of mirrors, Polar Park becomes a jubilant field of expression for its director who deploys a double set of trails, aimed at his characters as well as the public who already know him a little. He twists the material, diverts it and multiplies trompe-l’oeil and illusions by taking the opposite view of the original film… to the point of playing with the image of their performers, or roles that we thought we knew. Poupoupidou ultimately no longer has much of Polar Park and vice versa, but they take on a completely different dimension next to each other.

Polar Park will be broadcast on November 2 and 9 on Arte, and already available in full on Arte.tv