There’s always a tricky question of semantics when it comes to stories about criminals who deal in deception. The lines between the points where one persona ends and another begins make it difficult to focus on who the “real” figure at the center is.
That’s true for “The Serpent,” the eight-part limited series about the life and crimes of Charles Sobhraj, but only to an extent. Though Tahar Rahim plays all forms of the man who led an international crime ring, he exists for most of the series as “Alain Gautier.” What begins as an alias — the origins of which the audience sees in fits and starts as the series progresses — comes to encompass all of what allowed him to grow his intercontinental passport- and jewel-laundering scam, ensnaring a growing net of murder victims and accomplices and enemies along the way. In the process, the show surrounding him...
That’s true for “The Serpent,” the eight-part limited series about the life and crimes of Charles Sobhraj, but only to an extent. Though Tahar Rahim plays all forms of the man who led an international crime ring, he exists for most of the series as “Alain Gautier.” What begins as an alias — the origins of which the audience sees in fits and starts as the series progresses — comes to encompass all of what allowed him to grow his intercontinental passport- and jewel-laundering scam, ensnaring a growing net of murder victims and accomplices and enemies along the way. In the process, the show surrounding him...
- 4/2/2021
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
Jumping back and forth in time, Netflix's The Serpent unpacks Charles Sobhraj's (Tahar Rahim) murder rampage as a junior Dutch diplomat named Herman Knippenberg (Billy Howle) follows his case in Thailand. Though Knippenberg faced resistance from his superiors and Thai authorities, he eventually helped catch Sobhraj in 1976. Now 76 years old, Knippenberg is remarried and retired.
Just as on the true-crime show, Knippenberg, then 31, first became aware of Sobhraj as he investigated the case of a Dutch couple in Feb. 1976 while he was posted as a diplomat in Bangkok. The Dutch backpackers, Henricus Bintanja and Cornelia Hemker (Willem and Lena on the series), had been missing, and Knippeneberg helped confirm that two found burned corpses were indeed them. With help from his then-wife Angela and his friend Paul Siemons, Knippenberg linked the murders to French gem dealer Alain Gautier, aka Sobhraj.
It turned out that Sobhraj had been drugging,...
Just as on the true-crime show, Knippenberg, then 31, first became aware of Sobhraj as he investigated the case of a Dutch couple in Feb. 1976 while he was posted as a diplomat in Bangkok. The Dutch backpackers, Henricus Bintanja and Cornelia Hemker (Willem and Lena on the series), had been missing, and Knippeneberg helped confirm that two found burned corpses were indeed them. With help from his then-wife Angela and his friend Paul Siemons, Knippenberg linked the murders to French gem dealer Alain Gautier, aka Sobhraj.
It turned out that Sobhraj had been drugging,...
- 4/2/2021
- by Stacey Nguyen
- Popsugar.com
Jenna Coleman's portrayal of Marie-Andrée Leclerc captures the tense mood of The Serpent, the true-crime limited series about serial killer Charles Sobhraj's (Tahar Rahim) murder spree. Though dressing in luxurious clothes and superficially embracing the freewheeling '70s spirit, Leclerc, or Monique, appears anxious during her travels with Sobhraj, who pretends to be gem dealer Alain Gautier. So what happened to Leclerc? As The Serpent shows us, she was arrested in 1976 and eventually died in 1984.
Born in Canada in 1945, Leclerc had been working as a medical secretary before she met Sobhraj on a trip to India. Leclerc accompanied Sobhraj as he traveled through the Hippie Trail in Southeast Asia in the '70s. He is linked to 12 murders, but investigators believe he may have had more victims. As depicted in The Serpent, Sobhraj would drug his victims, taking their passports, possessions, and money. We don't know how much...
Born in Canada in 1945, Leclerc had been working as a medical secretary before she met Sobhraj on a trip to India. Leclerc accompanied Sobhraj as he traveled through the Hippie Trail in Southeast Asia in the '70s. He is linked to 12 murders, but investigators believe he may have had more victims. As depicted in The Serpent, Sobhraj would drug his victims, taking their passports, possessions, and money. We don't know how much...
- 4/2/2021
- by Stacey Nguyen
- Popsugar.com
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