«L’Eté Rouge»
“Red Summer”
Georges Corraface as Thomas Croze.
Other main roles: Guy Marchand, Charlotte Kady, Agathe de la Boulaye, Aladin Reibel, Jacques Spiesser, Valérie Leboutte, Natacha Lindinger, François Eric Gendron, Thomas Jouannet.
Directed by: Gérard Marx.
Screenplay: Dominique Lancelot and Alexis Lecaye.
Produced by: Associated Authors.
Distributed by: TF1.
Date: 2002.
Photos: Francoise Pages / TF1.
In “L’Eté Rouge”, Georges plays the role of Thomas Croze, ski star, adulated and seductive. He suddenly falls from his pedestal after the assassination of his mistress, the beautiful heiress Hélène de Graf. We first suspect the husband, Alex de Graf, the most powerful man in the valley, whom Hélène had just left for Thomas. Divorce would have made him lose at the same time, his position and his fortune. But it quickly becomes apparent that that night it was Thomas who was about to be abandoned. Hélène had decided, for the love of her daughter, to return to the marital home.
“Hélène’s murder takes place when reason triumphs over the sentiment of love, not quite extinguished, at a time of emotional tearing,” explains Georges. “When the lover renounces the woman he loves, as in a tragedy by Racine, he loves her more than ever. He is at the height of love.”
Having become accused and a fugitive, Thomas is sentenced to thirteen years in prison. On leaving, hardened by the ordeal, Thomas is determined to find the real culprit. He returns to his native Alps and finds the protagonists of the drama: Audrey, Hélène’s daughter, has become a fragile and stubborn woman; Alex remarried Paola, Audrey’s godmother. Thomas also reunites with his sister Mélanie (Charlotte Kady), whose husband, Julien Lacroix, has become a renowned surgeon. But no sooner does Thomas begin to investigate, than Alex De Graf is assassinated. Once again suspected, he narrowly escapes Martin Le Brec (Guy Marchand), the cop in charge of the investigation. A long run begins.
The tracks are multiplying: around the fabulous heritage, around the casino coveted by a competing group. In the game of cat and mouse, Thomas is less afraid of Le Brec, a tough but honest cop, than the real assassin who wants his skin. Fortunately, during his investigation, Thomas finds sometimes unexpected supporters: Robert (Jacques Spiesser), his cellmate; Val (Agathe de La Boulaye), a delinquent with a big heart, and Marion (Valérie Leboutte), the pretty waitress of the casino.
“Thomas Croze is on parole, which does not give him free rein,” explains Georges. Determined to unmask the real murderer of Hélène De Graf, he disrupts the certainties of a provincial town, under the control of the powerful De Graf family., “” Despite or because of the years spent in prison, an energy, a flame burns in him which prompts him to take all the risks to find the key to the riddle. “