User Reviews

Perhaps the most attractive aspect of "The Third Secret" lies in the way it depicts the rivalries between the police and the Carabinieri. Initially it seems as if the two will never co-exist, as Montalbano (Michele Riondino) becomes involved in a complicated case involving the death of an Albanian builder (Andry Maslonkin) who turns out to be an under-cover police officer. Once Montalbano learns that it is perhaps the Carabinieri boss's last case, as he will die soon owing to a brain tumor, his attitude relents, and the two of them manage to clear up the case. Until that point, however, it seems that too many detectives might spoil the broth, so to speak.

Gianluca Maria Tavarelli's production also complicates the relationship between Montalbano and the luckless Catarella (Fabrizio Pizzuto). The episode opens with a dream sequence where Montalbano imagines himself in a shoot-out, and Catarella ends up being killed. The inspector's guilt - even if only in a dream-sequence - colors his future dealings with Catarella, as he lets him into a series of secrets (hence the "third secret" of the episode's title). In truth none of the secrets are very significant, but Catarella nonetheless shows devotion beyond the call of duty. Eventually the two men become involved in a shoot-out, but Catarella emerges unscathed.

The episode contains two distinct plots, one involving the Mafia and a corrupt builder, the other a young Tunisian woman (Perla Giordano) trying to escape her pimp and get married. This latter plot is resolved in a dramatic sequence right at the end, but on the way director Tavarelli manages to make some trenchant observations about the ways in which immigrants from so-called "Third World" nations are often abused. In light of current affairs, with mass immigration to Europe from Syria and Afghanistan, the plot becomes even more pertinent.

To be honest, Michele Riondino is both facially and bodily very different from the older Montalbano; it is hard to believe that the characters are designated to be one and the same. Viewed on its own terms as a stand-alone detective thriller, however, "The Third Secret" remains riveting entertainment.

Love 'Inspector Montalbano' and feel that it does a great job bringing freshness to a well-worn genre (not intended as a bad thing, love crime/mystery drama but there's a lot out there with familiar tropes to each other).

Was not sure how its prequel series 'The Young Montalbano' would fare when hearing of it. It sounded interesting to see the great 'Inspector Montalbano' characters in their youth, but also questioned the necessity. With that being said, had mixed expectations before watching 'Endeavour', the prequel series to one of my favourites 'Inspector Morse' and it ended up nearly as great. The same goes for 'The Young Montalbano', it must have been no easy feat to live up to such a good show and have a younger actor for the title character filling in very big shoes but 'The Young Montalbano' manages it splendidly.

Some may question the physical resemblances of the younger cast to 'Inspector Montalbano's' cast for continuity's sake, Mimi is a notable example. That was not an issue at all to me. "The Third Secret" continues the remarkably consistently brilliant standard set by the previous three episodes, not many shows have started off this consistently in a good way (even 'Inspector Montalbano' had episodes in its first season that while always never less than very good where some episodes were better than others) and 'The Young Montalbano' is one of the finer and in a way under-appreciated examples.

"The Third Secret", as hoped and expected, 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 scenery as always is atmospheric and the use of it very clever, the locale as always is suitably colourful. 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.

Oh, and something that was neglected to be mentioned by me in my reviews for the show and its individual episodes is how the food and the way it's used is enough to make one salivate over, it looks so delicious and almost too good to eat.

Part of 'The Young Montalbano's' appeal how it manages to stay true to what was so good about 'Inspector Montalbano' and is every bit as successful at creating a history that is both incredibly interesting and plausible. The humour is fun, the conflict is tense in a nail-biting way and the drama charms and affects. The secrets are intriguing as are the social history observations, one of the two cases ends very poignantly. A definite standout scene was the frighteningly surreal opening sequence. The characters as their younger selves, for what they lack in physical resemblance, more than make up for that in maintaining the same personalities we know and love the characters for and being just as interesting in development. Catarella when younger is just as hilarious, if more subtle. Even the supporting characters are given a lot of attention.

Very like the best episodes of 'The Young Montalbano', the story is well-paced, absorbing, intelligently written and brain-teasing, while keeping logic intact, not being too easy to solve (actually like 'Inspector Montalbano' it's pretty complicated) and not confusing or alienating the viewer. Pacing is leisurely but never dull.

The acting is very good, Michele Riondino had a Herculean task filling the shoes of the incomparable Luca Zingaretti but is more than up to the task and does it more than admirably, balancing comedy, drama and intensity with ease. All the other roles range from solid to great, with Fabrizio Pizzutto really coming into his own, but through the whole show it's Riondino's show all the way when it comes to the acting honours.

Overall, brilliant once again. 10/10 Bethany Cox