User Reviews

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.

"The Cat and the Goldfinch" is another great 'Inspector Montalbano' episode (as one would hope for), if not quite among my favourites. There is not really that much to criticise, though the contrived and under-cooked final solution brought things down a touch.

One always expects 'Inspector Montalbano' to look good. As always with 'Inspector Montalbano', "The Cat and the Goldfinch" 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 (most of it centring around Mimi this time), nail-biting tension and involving and poignant human drama balanced beautifully. The subtitles are not hard to follow and the story is very absorbing and while it is a very complicated case with a potential danger of being over-stuffed it still managed to be logical and ring true.

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). All the characters are interesting though and Barbara certainly does make an impression on the viewer as well as the force.

Acting is terrific, especially from Luca Zingaretti who is a treasure in the title role, having a perfect balance of comedy and drama and playing it straight while always engaging with his material. Angelo Russo's comic timing is a refreshing and always perfectly timed joy, while Cesare Bocci and Peppino Mazzotta are solid as usual. Mariacristina Marocco is a more than welcome addition.

In summary, great episode if not quite one of my favourites. 9/10 Bethany Cox

This episode of the detective series has our eponymous hero (Luca Zingaretti) investigating a bizarre series of muggings in which elderly ladies get threatened by a man on a motorcycle with a helmet obscuring his features; he shoots blanks at then and steals their handbags, but otherwise leaves them untouched. The process continues until the fourth assault, when an elderly lady - married to a prosperous lawyer - is shot dead at point-blank range. The Inspector embarks on a complicated case that requires him to travel to Palermo as well as listening to a variety of testimonies - relevant or otherwise - from some of the other victims.

The title of this episode - The Cat and the Goldfinch - is somewhat misleading, as the two animals are only mentioned in the denouement, as the Inspector finally solves the case. The solution seems a little contrived, prompting us to ask various questions about the victims' whereabouts before she was murdered.

Nonetheless, THE CAT AND THE GOLDFINCH has other things to distract us - notably the mental anguish experienced by Montalbano's sidekick Augello (Cesare Bocci) as he prepares for marriage. With a perpetual yen for other women, his eye still wanders, but the Inspector perpetually dissuades him from acting upon his impulses. For his part, Montalbano both forgets the date of Augello's wedding and has a great deal of difficulty trying to arrange for the wedding-rings to be engraved; as Augello's best man, it is his duty to undertake these responsibilities, but Monbtalbano is so engrossed in his work that he invariably forgets to do so. By the end of the episode, we are still uncertain as to whether the wedding will go ahead.

Not the best entry in the series, it must be admitted, but Zingaretti is still worth watching for his carefully nuanced yet humorous characterization of the Inspector.

It is a shame that such a beautiful hilltop Sicilian village location is presented in such poor quality video. Watching this video is like going blind. The quality is so poor that the stones in a wall and the cobblestones in the street are hardly discernible.

Pretty good story. Great subtitles, best I've ever seen. The script is something of a joke on the viewer as the plot progresses slowly while the characters go about everyday business, paying more attention to the distractions of everyday life rather than solving crime and a second joke on the viewer is watching different coworkers attempt to solve the crime with worthless opinion and speculation rather than doing the actual work of investigation.

Huge cast. Every random character gets 5 minutes on screen. All with their own little subplots.

It is a little grating that many Italians are portrayed as being clownish but I guess that is part of the attraction some have to this show. The desk officer at the detective's police station is way over the top, shouting and jumping up and down in every scene he's in.