MHz Choice is set to premiere A Dark, Dark Man (Videoplugger), an official selection of the San Sebastián International Film Festival and winner of Achievement in Directing for Adilkhan Yerzhanov from the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. Two of Yerzhanov’s previous films (Owners, The Gentle Indifference of the World) were official selections of the Cannes Film Festival. The film will premiere as three approximately hour-long installments on July 19th.
Conceived as a Kazakh version of a French film noir, A Dark, Dark Man starts with the murder of a small boy and is set in a bleak yet artfully framed beautiful landscape – rural and dusty rather than urban and gritty. The protagonist is Bekzat (Daniar Alshinov), a young policeman who is already a jaded and cynical accomplice to the corruption all around him. His slow-motion awakening to confronting the corrupt system is inspired almost against his will by the sudden appearance of an outside journalist, Ariana (Dinara Baktybaeva). Bekzat’s pursuit of the real murderer is flawed and a jagged zigzag towards justice, encountering plenty of blood and wrongdoing along the way.
The film does purposely depart from its darker noir tone with an ’80s-inspired soundtrack and is genuinely funny at times. Yerzhanov has explained that “In my films, humor helps to neutralize landmines”.
Also in July, the law enforcement team known as The Bastards of Pizzofalcone (Italy, RAI Com) is back for a third season after the explosive end to Season 2. A new Bastard, Commissioner Elsa Martini (Maria Vera Ratti), joins the team, along with persistent rumors about her involvement in the death of a suspected pedophile. She fits right into the Pizzofalcone vibe as the day-to-day dramedy is peppered by some expected mafia appearances, along with an ongoing serial killer investigation.
MHz Choice will also premiere the latest season of Cherif (France, France Televisions), Season 10 of Don Matteo (Italy, Lux Vide) and two bonus episodes of Alexandra Ehle (France, Film & Picture).
The full July 2022 schedule available here: https://mhzchoice.com/premiere-schedule/
JULY 5
DON MATTEO: SEASON 10, ITALY, LUX VIDE, NEW SEASON
The ongoing treat of Don Matteo’s return to MHz Choice continues with new seasons premiering throughout 2022. Terence Hill stars as Don Matteo, a thoroughly ordinary Catholic priest with an extraordinary ability to read people and solve crimes.
JULY 12
CHERIF: SEASON 5, FRANCE, FRANCE TELEVISIONS, NEW SEASON
The penultimate season! Captain Kader Cherif is a brilliant and eccentric detective in this addictive, long-running mystery series set in Lyon.
JULY 19
ALEXANDRA EHLE, FRANCE, FILM & PICTURE, NEW EPISODES
For those left wanting more of quirky coroner Alexandra Ehle (Julie Depardieu), we have two bonus feature-length episodes coming to MHz Choice this month. What makes Alexandra special is her devotion to restoring dignity to the dead, regardless of how unconventional her approach is to the cast of characters around her.
A DARK, DARK MAN, KAZAKHSTAN, VIDEOPLUGGER, NEW LIMITED SERIES
A series of murders exposes deep corruption in a tight-knit Kazakh community, where a local policeman will do anything to uncover the true killer. Variety‘s Jessica Klang describes acclaimed Kazakh director Adilkhan Yerzhanov’s drama as a “staggeringly controlled, slow-burn scorcher of a crime thriller… brilliant, diamond-hard film noir.”
JULY 26
THE BASTARDS OF PIZZOFALCONE: SEASON 3, ITALY, RAI COM, NEW SEASON
Alessandro Gassman leads an ensemble cast in the latest season of this popular Neapolitan crime drama based on the bestselling mystery novels by Maurizio de Giovanni.About MHz Networks
MHz Networks offers viewers access to a library of the best television mysteries, dramas, comedies and documentaries subtitled in English through its subscription streaming service, MHz Choice. Select MHz Networks content is also available on DVD and on its free ad-supported service MHz Now, available on Samsung TV Plus.
