This is one of the more satisfying episodes in the Montalbano canon. A complicated tale that begins with the murder of a thirtysomething Lothario, and ends up as a tale of corruption involving a surgeon (Giovannı Moschella) and an aging Mafia boss (Francesco Sineri). Montalbano (Luca Zingaretti) takes the case lightly at first, but as the strands unravel, he realizes that its resolution involves a scandal that implicates a large proportion of Sicilian and Italian high society. Needless to say he uncovers the truth behind the plot, with the invaluable assistance of Mimi Augello (Cesare Bocci). This episode contains several incidental pleasures, most notably a subplot involving Augello's proposed marriage to a police inspector from another district which never takes place; and a scheme hatched by Montalbano to give over-enthusiastic police officer Catarella (Angelo Russo) something to do. The fact that Catarella spends the entire night on the task is beyond the inspector's comprehension. Director Alberto Sironi achieves some notable visual effects, most notably his penchant for beginning sequences with a pitch-black screen; suddenly a door opens and in comes Montalbano. The camera shoots such sequences from inside a room; Montalbano enters from the outside, creating a sinister effect that seems particularly appropriate to an episode involving such large-scale corruption.
3 Reviews
A must go-on trip
TheLittleSongbird11 October 2017
Love detective mystery dramas, particularly those from the UK and US ('Inspector Morse', 'A Touch of Frost', 'Foyle's War', 'Inspector George Gently', 'Midsomer Murders', 'Law and Order', 'Criminal Minds', 'Monk' and 'Murder She Wrote' for examples,, and non-English/American ones (i.e. The Swedish 'Wallander' and the Danish 'The Killing') also fascinate me.
'Inspector Montalbano' is one of the best and most entertaining examples. It is not easy breathing freshness into a well-worn genre but 'Inspector Montalbano' manages to do so with aplomb. Watching 'Inspector Montalbano' is like eating a delicious Italian meal that immensely satisfies and leaves you wanting more. There may be very familiar tropes, but in a way it's inevitable and doesn't detract from the enjoyment at all.
"A Trip to Tindari" is one of my favourite 'Inspector Montalbano' episodes. Although all the previous episodes were very good to excellent (the weakest to me is "The Terracotta Dog" and that was still high quality, despite being too exposition-reliant and the story sometimes lacking clarity), "A Trip to Tindari" is also my favourite of the series up to this point.
One always expects 'Inspector Montalbano' to look good. As always with 'Inspector Montalbano', "A Trip to Tindari" is beautifully shot and the scenery is stunning, making those who've never been to Italy want to book a holiday there as soon as possible and is a treat for anybody who loves all things Italian. The music is never over-bearing or low-key with a nice atmosphere and flavour, a lot of it is very cleverly used. The sound effects are remarkably authentic.
Writing is tightly structured and taut, with very funny to hilarious humour, nail-biting tension and involving and poignant human drama balanced beautifully. The subtitles are not hard to follow and the story, although a little more complicated than usual, is absorbing and a real brain-teaser, suitably challenging the viewer while still being logical and comprehensible. There is more than one case here but enough time is devoted to each and it never feels over-stuffed.
Characters may be stereotypes but well-written ones, especially one of the most fascinating foreign detective mystery dramas titular characters there is to me and the scene-stealing Catarella (hilarious comic relief but more than that). The supporting characters intrigue too.
Acting is terrific, especially from Luca Zigaretti who is a treasure in the title role. Angelo Russo's comic timing is a refreshing and always perfectly timed joy and the supporting cast are strong. Katharina Bohm is just as good here as she was in the previous episodes and Peppino Mazzotta plays Fazio with relish.
In conclusion, this trip is more than worth going on, for fans of 'Inspector Montalbano' it's a must. 10/10 Bethany Cox
'Inspector Montalbano' is one of the best and most entertaining examples. It is not easy breathing freshness into a well-worn genre but 'Inspector Montalbano' manages to do so with aplomb. Watching 'Inspector Montalbano' is like eating a delicious Italian meal that immensely satisfies and leaves you wanting more. There may be very familiar tropes, but in a way it's inevitable and doesn't detract from the enjoyment at all.
"A Trip to Tindari" is one of my favourite 'Inspector Montalbano' episodes. Although all the previous episodes were very good to excellent (the weakest to me is "The Terracotta Dog" and that was still high quality, despite being too exposition-reliant and the story sometimes lacking clarity), "A Trip to Tindari" is also my favourite of the series up to this point.
One always expects 'Inspector Montalbano' to look good. As always with 'Inspector Montalbano', "A Trip to Tindari" is beautifully shot and the scenery is stunning, making those who've never been to Italy want to book a holiday there as soon as possible and is a treat for anybody who loves all things Italian. The music is never over-bearing or low-key with a nice atmosphere and flavour, a lot of it is very cleverly used. The sound effects are remarkably authentic.
Writing is tightly structured and taut, with very funny to hilarious humour, nail-biting tension and involving and poignant human drama balanced beautifully. The subtitles are not hard to follow and the story, although a little more complicated than usual, is absorbing and a real brain-teaser, suitably challenging the viewer while still being logical and comprehensible. There is more than one case here but enough time is devoted to each and it never feels over-stuffed.
Characters may be stereotypes but well-written ones, especially one of the most fascinating foreign detective mystery dramas titular characters there is to me and the scene-stealing Catarella (hilarious comic relief but more than that). The supporting characters intrigue too.
Acting is terrific, especially from Luca Zigaretti who is a treasure in the title role. Angelo Russo's comic timing is a refreshing and always perfectly timed joy and the supporting cast are strong. Katharina Bohm is just as good here as she was in the previous episodes and Peppino Mazzotta plays Fazio with relish.
In conclusion, this trip is more than worth going on, for fans of 'Inspector Montalbano' it's a must. 10/10 Bethany Cox
Two linked mysteries
Tweekums11 March 2012
Warning: Spoilers
I had seen this episode a couple of times before BBC4 started showing the entire series but thankfully it is good enough to enjoy repeated viewings. It begins with to seemingly unrelated occurrences linked by a common location; firstly a man is murdered outside the apartment block in which he lives then two of the elderly residents of the same building are reported missing. While investigating the murder they discover that the dead man had been exchanging love letters with a woman; he also had a collection of video tapes showing him and a variety of women having sex. The woman in the letters seems to be key to the investigation so somebody will have to watch the tapes. Meanwhile it is established that the missing couple disappeared sometime during the return part of a coach trip to Tindari; the coach stopped three times but nobody on board seems to be sure where they got off. If that wasn't enough Montalbano gets a call from an elderly Mafiosi who seems to want his grandson arrested; of course by the end of the episode everything is linked but it is learning how it is linked that is fun.
This was another fine episode with an interesting mystery; it also has plenty of funny scenes; the best of which were when Montalbano tried to break down a door and ended up injuring himself and when he fell asleep while watching the victims rather loud sex movies and incurred the wrath of everybody in the building! It was also fun to see him acting as match maker for one of his men; even if he was only doing it because he had got engaged and might have transferred away so Montalbano wanted him with a local girl! Luca Zingaretti continues to do a great job in the title role, managing to be funny without looking as if he is trying to be funny.
This was another fine episode with an interesting mystery; it also has plenty of funny scenes; the best of which were when Montalbano tried to break down a door and ended up injuring himself and when he fell asleep while watching the victims rather loud sex movies and incurred the wrath of everybody in the building! It was also fun to see him acting as match maker for one of his men; even if he was only doing it because he had got engaged and might have transferred away so Montalbano wanted him with a local girl! Luca Zingaretti continues to do a great job in the title role, managing to be funny without looking as if he is trying to be funny.
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