Poirot is accompanying his friend, Scotland Yard Chief Inspector Japp who is being installed with great honor in an exclusive Belgian order. He had fled there when the Germans invaded Belgium early in World War I. In this episode of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot, the great man returns to his homeland after 20 years in England. Overall, this is one of the best episodes in the series. It's beautiful and heart-breaking in it's honesty, innocence, and sincerity. Finally, I have to mention the relationship between Poirot and Virginie Mesnard. The mystery itself is quite good with a satisfactory conclusion given the clues and events leading up to the finale. Set in a different time and a different place, everything looks stunning. The Chocolate Box is undoubtedly one of the most beautifully filmed Poirot episodes. The supporting cast is equal to the task, with Rosalie Crutchley and Anna Chancellor being the standouts for me. It's almost like watching two different actors. Going from young, slim Poirot in one scene to the older, balder Poirot we're more familiar with in the next is amazing. Suchet does what I consider his best piece of acting in the entire series. The Chocolate Box is a truly wonderful, but different, Poirot episode. Poirot relates the case to Japp (in a series of flashbacks), including the solution to the murder. He meets an old colleague and is reminded of a case he didn't solve. (***)Īfter 20 years away from Belgium, Poirot returns for a visit with Inspector Japp. And the case is really quite simple - the clues are right there in front of you, but you still won't notice them. There is no investigation in the present - Poirot had actually solved the case in the past, and we get to see how in some beautifully done flashbacks. It's also one of the very rare instances where we see Poirot involved in a subtly romantic relationship with a lady (the lovely Anna Chancellor). It offers a glimpse at the earliest parts of Poirot's career - earlier even than "The Mysterious Affair At Styles" where he had already moved to England. "The Chocolate Box" is one of the best "Poirot" episodes since "Wasp's Nest", mainly for the same reason: because it moves away from the usual formula of the series and tries something different. Poirot claims that the verdict was wrong, and proceeds to tell Japp the whole story. Meeting his assistant from the days when he was still just a rookie police officer, Poirot remembers an old case from that period - the death of an ambitious Belgian government official that was attributed to heart failure. Hercule Poirot returns to Brussels after 20 years, traveling along with Inspector Japp who is invited there to be honored for his services to Belgium.
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