The Young Montalbano
| The Young Montalbano | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | 'Il giovane Montalbano' |
| Genre | Police procedural |
| Written by | Francesco Bruni Andrea Camilleri |
| Directed by | Gianluca Maria Tavarelli |
| Starring | Michele Riondino |
| Theme music composer | Andrea Guerra (music) Davide Camarrone (lyrics) |
| Opening theme | Curri, curri (sung by Olivia Sellerio) |
| Ending theme | Vuci mia cantannu vai (sung by Olivia Sellerio) |
| Composer(s) | Andrea Guerra |
| Country of origin | Italy |
| Original language(s) | Italian, Sicilian |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 12 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Gianfranco Barbagallo |
| Producer(s) | Carlo Degli Esposti Nora Barbieri Max Gusberti |
| Production location(s) | Ragusa Scicli |
| Cinematography | Lorenzo Adorisio (Season 1) Mario Pieroni (Season 2)[1] |
| Editor(s) | Alessandro Heffler |
| Running time | 120 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Rai Fiction Palomar |
| Distributor | Rai Trade |
| Release | |
| Original network | Rai 1 |
| Picture format | 16:9 |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | 23 February 2012 – 19 October 2015 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Inspector Montalbano |
| External links | |
| Il giovane Montalbano | |
The Young Montalbano (Italian: Il giovane Montalbano ) is an Italian television series produced and broadcast by Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI) in 2012 and 2015. It is a prequel to the popular series Inspector Montalbano (Italian: Il commissario Montalbano ), based on the detective novels of Andrea Camilleri, set in the fictional town of Vigàta, Sicily.
The first season was originally broadcast in February–March 2012 by Rai 1 in Italy.[2] The series was broadcast in the United States by MHz WorldView as part of their International Mystery series in October–November 2012.[3] The BBC acquired the series in late 2012,[4] and the first episode was broadcast by BBC Four in the UK on 7 September 2013.[5]
Series producer Carlo Degli Esposti, in an interview published in TV Sorrisi e Canzoni in April 2012, confirmed that a second season was expected to start filming in late 2013,[6] but it was then delayed until August 2014,[7][8] and the second season was not broadcast in Italy until September–October 2015.[9]
In 2016 UK's BBC 4 began broadcasting Series 2. The first episode 1/6, "The Man Who Followed Funerals" was broadcast on 6 January 2016.
Contents
Casting
Michele Riondino wrote in a blog for the BBC:
"Accepting the offer to play Salvo Montalbano in The Young Montalbano all happened when I was on the set of We Believed. I played a soldier from Garibaldi's army and I had a very scruffy look: unkempt beard, matted hair, mud stains on my face. The film producer was Carlo Degli Esposti, the same producer of Inspector Montalbano, who seeing me in that state had, as he puts it, an intuition. […] A few days later I received a phone call from my agent who told me about a phone conversation with Degli Esposti and how he had been impressed by my look. He told me that Carlo had in mind having young Montalbano as somewhat of a Che Guevara and that my red shirt soldier had convinced him I could be him. I was extremely flattered by the proposal but I didn't accept immediately. It took me several months before I managed to convince myself. Montalbano was always Luca Zingaretti. […] I feared some sort of media attack, since changing the face of the detective was almost blasphemy to some".[10]
A subsequent meeting with Montalbano's creator, Andrea Camilleri, convinced him to take the role.[10]
Characters
- Commissario Salvo Montalbano – Michele Riondino. Newly appointed police chief of Vigata.
- Vice commissario Domenico "Mimì" Augello – Alessio Vassallo (it). A police officer, Montalbano's deputy.
- Carmine Fazio – Andrea Tidona. A veteran police officer, initially Montalbano's deputy.
- Catarella – Fabrizio Pizzuto. A police officer.
- Paternò – Alessio Piazza. A police officer.
- Gallo – Maurilio Leto. A police officer.
- Giuseppe Fazio – Beniamino Marcone (it). A police officer, son of Carmine.
- Padre di Montalbano – Adriano Chiaramida. Montalbano's father.
- Nicolò Zito – Carmelo Galati. A local TV news journalist.
- Dr. Pasquano – Giuseppe Santostefano. The coroner.
- Livia Burlando – Sarah Felberbaum. With whom Montalbano begins a relationship.
- Adelina – Alessandra Costanzo. Montalbano's cook and housekeeper.
- Questore Alabiso – Massimo De Rossi. Montalbano's superior officer.
Episodes
Series 1
| No. overall |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "La prima indagine di Montalbano" "Montalbano's First Case" |
Gianluca Maria Tavarelli | Francesco Bruni Andrea Camilleri |
23 February 2012 |
| The year is 1990, and Montalbano is deputy inspector in a remote village in the Sicilian mountains. A local thug with a history of theft is murdered and the evidence points to an elderly shepherd as the killer. In the meantime Montalbano is promoted to inspector and transferred to the seaside town of Vigàta, where he grew up. There he stumbles upon a piece of evidence that solves the case in the mountains, and also unravels the mystery of why a girl attempted to murder a judge. Several characters who will feature in Inspector Montalbano are introduced in this episode, including the bumbling desk sergeant Catarella.[11] and seasoned detective Carmine Fazio, whose son Giuseppe will eventually become Montalbano's right-hand man.[12] | |||||
| 2 | 2 | "Capodanno" "New Year's Day" |
Gianluca Maria Tavarelli | Francesco Bruni Andrea Camilleri |
1 March 2012 |
| The owner of the hotel in which Montalbano is living is shot dead on New Year's Eve. Was it an accident or something more sinister? Also, a dying woman's last words leads him to re-open a 40-year-old murder case, which may have resulted in a miscarriage of justice. | |||||
| 3 | 3 | "Ritorno alle origini" "Back to Basics" |
Gianluca Maria Tavarelli | Francesco Bruni Andrea Camilleri |
8 March 2012 |
| Montalbano clashes with his new deputy "Mimì" Augello when they investigate two unusual cases; in the first a box of worthless beer bottle caps are stolen from the house of a compulsive hoarder, and in the second a small child is apparently kidnapped, only to be released two hours later without any ransom demand being made. | |||||
| 4 | 4 | "Ferito a morte" "Mortally Wounded" |
Gianluca Maria Tavarelli | Francesco Bruni Andrea Camilleri |
15 March 2012 |
| Montalbano investigates the murder of a loan shark, for which there is initially no shortage of suspects, but the later discovery of another body nearby complicates matters. Meanwhile someone is putting up posters around Vigàta asking the inhabitants to vote in a referendum about the reputation of a politician's wife. | |||||
| 5 | 5 | "Il terzo segreto" "The Third Secret" |
Gianluca Maria Tavarelli | Francesco Bruni Andrea Camilleri |
22 March 2012 |
| Montalbano receives a letter informing him of the accidental death of a worker at a construction site - posted before the man died. It turns out to be the latest in a series of similar "accidents", but he must act unofficially as the case is under the jurisdiction of the Carabinieri. Also, after someone shot at the noticeboard containing announcements of upcoming weddings, he must find out who is trying to prevent a marriage and why. | |||||
| 6 | 6 | "Sette lunedì" "Seven Mondays" |
Gianluca Maria Tavarelli | Francesco Bruni Andrea Camilleri |
29 March 2012 |
| Montalbano investigates the slaying of an wealthy man whose wastrel son seems like the obvious suspect, and a ritualistic series of animal killings leads him to conclude that someone is planning a murder. | |||||
Series 2
| No. overall |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 1 | "L'uomo che andava appresso ai funerali" "The Man Who Followed Funerals" |
Gianluca Maria Tavarelli | Francesco Bruni Andrea Camilleri |
14 September 2015 |
| The murder of a disabled gentleman who shows up to mourn at other people's funerals seems to be a mystery until the death of a woman linked to the unlikely mourner's former employer gives Salvo his first lead. | |||||
| 8 | 2 | "La Stanza Numero Due" "Room Number Two" |
Gianluca Maria Tavarelli | Francesco Bruni Andrea Camilleri |
21 September 2015 |
| While walking along the beach at night Salvo and Livia see an old Riviera Hotel on fire. One guest dies in the fire. There is suspicion that this fire is a Mafia warning. | |||||
| 9 | 3 | "Morte In Mare Aperto" "Death on the High Seas" |
Gianluca Maria Tavarelli | Francesco Bruni Andrea Camilleri |
28 September 2015 |
| Salvo investigates the apparently accidental killing of a fisherman on a Vigata fishing boat and uncovers serious criminal activity in the process. | |||||
| 10 | 4 | "La Transazione" "The Transaction", also "The Settlement" |
Gianluca Maria Tavarelli | Francesco Bruni Andrea Camilleri |
5 October 2015 |
| In this episode is a robbery (the theft of the contents of all of a new bank’s safe-deposit boxes), a circus with a fortune-teller, and three murders. Young Montalbano is faced with the complexities of the crimes, and with dilemmas in his private life. | |||||
| 11 | 5 | "Il Ladro Onesto" "The Honest Thief" |
Gianluca Maria Tavarelli | Francesco Bruni Andrea Camilleri |
12 October 2015 |
| A beautiful waitress disappears, a child is kidnapped, and a spate of unusual thefts are woven into this episode. Circumstances lead Salvo to adopt unusual methods to solve the mysteries, while dealing with the disappointed reactions of his officers when they learn he has asked for a transfer to Genoa, to be closer to Livia. | |||||
| 12 | 6 | "Un'albicocca" "An Apricot" |
Gianluca Maria Tavarelli | Francesco Bruni Andrea Camilleri |
19 October 2015 |
| Montalbano is preparing for his move to Genoa. He is due to fly there in a few days’ time, but while driving with Livia he sees a car has driven off the road and over the cliff. A young fashion model is found dead in the driver’s seat. An apricot stone and a coral necklace provide clues. Despite red herrings thrown in his path by drug-dealers, Salvo takes the initiative and becomes thoroughly involved, even though his former Deputy, Inspector Mimi Augello, has taken over as Vigata’s official Chief of Police. Having solved the case, Montalbano now leaves for the airport, but en route, at a crossroads, his options are: turn right, to the autostrade (motorway) leading to the airport, or turn left, back to Vigata. He ponders, and turns left. When he arrives in Vigata it is totally deserted. Salvo hears on the radio news of an explosion on the road between Palermo and the airport, resulting in the death (assassination) of an anti-Mafia judge. The police escort and some civilians are also killed. In Vigata's police station Salvo finds the officers in a state of shock and despair. Next we see Montalbano speaking on the phone to Livia, who says "You stay there. It's where you belong. You stay there Salvo."[13] | |||||
Critical reception
Writing in UK newspaper The Independent on Sunday, Emily Jupp found that, "There are a few nods to TV detectives past. Questioning a policeman in Vigata, he turned to go, then in a perfect pastiche of Columbo, asked, 'and one more thing...' This being Italy, the question isn't about a clue, but about food, and soon his yearning for linguine alla vongole has been sated". She concluded by writing, "The niche appeal and subtitles might be a bit of a barrier, but by the end of the two-hour episode, I'd really warmed to this compelling Italian. Riondino's Montalbano could give Cumberbatch's Sherlock a run for his money".[14]
Writing in free UK newspaper Metro, Keith Watson wrote, "Just as Shaun Evans makes for a physically unlikely but entirely credible young Inspector Morse, so Riondino gives the part of Montalbano an entirely convincing and individual interpretation. […] Even mundane procedural exchanges between cops in the station took on a kind of poetic lilt, weaving a hypnotic brand of Mediterranean magic. […] The feeling was the one you get when curled up with a book on holiday while the sun sets and you're on your second cocktail. Unfolding at a leisurely two hours, with no sense of urgency and no ad breaks, The Young Montalbano had plenty of time to slip local colour into the pair of murder stories that unfolded in laconic yet not entirely ungripping fashion. It was a rare thing: a crime thriller that teased and circled its prey, rarely breaking into a sweat. Fans of subtitled Euro treats, walk this way".[15]
Gabriel Tate, reviewing the first episode in the London edition of Time Out, wrote: "The Young Morse? Well, Endeavour was pretty good. The Young Lund? Crying out to be made. But The Young Montalbano? Neither especially troubled nor notably enigmatic, the Sicilian detective has never been one of television's more intriguing characters, with the appeal of his show limited to the spectacular scenery and guessing which actor would chew through it the most during the course of that week's investigation. As origin stories go, this isn't exactly Batman Begins, although we learn that he did once have a full head of hair". Overall, he found the opener "Dull, dull, dull – for two hours".[16]
As of 18 February 2016, The Young Montalbano had a rating of 8.0/10 (from 522 users) on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb).[17]
References
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- ↑ "The sage of Sicily", The Guardian, 14 October 2006. Accessed 12 February 2016
- ↑ "Il giovane Montalbano, il prequel perfetto che cammina anche da solo", TV Zap, 7 July 2015 (Italian). Accessed 12 February 2016
- ↑ Lucia Rinaldi, Andrea Camilleri: A Companion to the Mystery Fiction. P 63. Accessed 8 February 2016
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