User Reviews

Montalbano is called in when a man is shot dead aboard a fishing boat; those aboard claim it was a tragic accident but there are a lot of questions to be asked; not least 'why did the shooter have a pistol on board?' He claims that he was showing it to the victim when a wave caused him to fire and he had it for protection… later other crew members claim they were all armed because they feared harassment from Libyan patrol boats but had thrown there unregistered weapons into the sea before returning to port. As the investigation goes on more and more details seem wrong; the sailors on the owner's fleet of five fishing boats are all paid much more than others but appear to be catching less fish… clearly they are up to something illicit. In a second case a girl who Fazio likes is having problems with her ex-boyfriend; a Mafioso who is on the run from the law and expects her to join him and is threatening her family to pressure her.

This was another enjoyable episode with a good mystery some tense action and quite a few laughs… Mimi's disappointment at not being allowed to go to interview a pair of beautiful identical twins was priceless! The investigation into the shooting was interesting as not only are various possible motives investigated there is also the possibility that the shooter is telling the truth and it was a tragic accident. There is also the question of what the fishermen were really up to. The story involving Fazio's friend was interesting too and provided the episodes most exciting moments… which lead to Livia having second thoughts about marriage when she realises just how dangerous Salvo's job can be. The cast do a fine job; Michele Riondino is great in the lead role and Alessio Vassallo is hilarious as Mimi without becoming too much of a caricature.

This is the third episode of the second season of the 'prequel' to the long running RAI series 'Inspector Montalbano'

I quite liked the first series but the first two episodes of the latest run have been a bit flabby but whilst this episode still had its faults it was better.

One of the problems of the previous 2 shows had been the uncertain mix of serious drama with comedy and in particular the overexposure of Catarella. As light relief in both this and the original 'Montalbano' he was fine- though Angelo Russo brought an odd dignity to the role that Fabrizio Pizzuto does not- but in the first two episodes of this run there was too much of him. In this the third story he was restricted to one brief scene of idiocy and his usual failure to walk through Montalbano's office door trick which was fine. I am still not sure I can square the younger, immensely foolish, almost camp Mimi Augello (Alessio Vassalo)with the more serious, troubled later version of the character but he was, at least, better in this episode.

The interlocking stories concerning the apparently accidental shooting of a trawlerman on a boat, the attempt to capture an on- the-run Mafia hit-man and the ongoing marriage of Salvo Montalbano and Livia worked well and overall this was a much more serious episode than either of the the previous two. A particularly good scene was where the lawyer for one of the Mafia families turns up at Montalbano's house and warns him as to his future conduct. Montalbano is more resigned than intimidated by a reminder of this omnipresent blight on Vigata and although he still has too much hair Michele Riondino's Salvo is in this scene clearly the younger version of Luca Zingaretti's.

Another problem with the first two episodes has been the engagement and forthcoming marriage between Salvo and Livia. Part of the trouble for those of us familiar with the original books and TV series is that (from memory) we know that hey do not wed and that the relationship continues mainly with the pair separated by virtually the entire length of Italy. A resolution of sorts is provided here and the closing scenes of Livia getting on her bus to leave was touching. I think I prefer this younger Livia although I hope the later episodes are back to the procedural work -and Salvo's visits to Calogero's restaurant- after the romantic interludes of the first three episodes.

The main story- the fishing boat accident- is I suppose routine enough and the revelation that the trawlers are bringing cocaine as well as fish to the quayside would have surprised nobody but it was nicely told and the realisation that simple fishermen can become corrupted by gangsters and their own greed ties in with the sense, given in that short scene with the lawyer, that Montalbano is up against a huge web of corruption. Sicily is seductively beautiful in this show but it is not paradise.

The women are, Livia aside, mainly for decoration. Italian women are , in my experience, often extremely physically attractive but in Vigata they all seem to be something beyond breathtaking to look at. The twins who run the gym are obviously beguiling- enough to make Augello thinking of joining their club- but the girl who is the former squeeze of the escaped hit-man - and for whom Fazio is carrying a torch- is the kind of young woman whose beauty makes you want to cheer out loud. But neither she nor the twins actually add much to the story.

A curious thought occurred watching this edition. The Young Montalbano is set in the early 1990s and is , as such, probably the only show to evoke nostalgia for that era. The 90s - unlike the two decades that preceded them- has less ridiculously recognisable fashions that immediately date them to that time. Although men , certainly in Britain, still sometimes sported mullet hairdos and the women shoulder pads if you look at photographs from then people pretty much look then as they do now. And yet this was the last era without widespread usage of both the internet and cellphones. Watching Montalbano getting into some scrape looking for all the world like its 2016 but not just phoning his excuses to Livia you realise how much (perhaps superficial) things have changed in our daily lives.

Not a classic but very watchable.