Commissario Montalbano Vol. IV - DVD

Content: Since 1999 Luca Zingaretti now already investigates as Commissario Salvo Montalbano in the fictional Sicilian coastal town of Vigàta. Based on the popular novels by Andrea Camilleri, the Italian policeman has now gained a loyal following not only in his homeland, but also in Germany. Sometimes moody and temperamental, sometimes charming and thoughtful, this is how Montalbano, the man of pleasure, presents himself to his fellow men. He approaches his investigations with care and deliberation, but he can also lose his temper at times. He conducts interrogations with his typical quick-wittedness, with which he elicits many an important detail from suspects. For the bad guys in Vigàta this is not necessarily an advantage. For the viewer, however, it is tremendously entertaining and makes Commissario Montalbano crime thriller enjoyment of a particularly worthwhile kind.

After the success of the first three DVD boxes is now Vol. IV with four new exciting cases appeared, in which Montalbano is extremely challenged not only professionally, but also privately.

FOLE 13 KÜMMELBLÄTTCHEN

NAfter the death of the old contractor Cascio is initially assumed to be a tragic accident. But then a connection is made to the case of architect Rocco Pennisi, who had recently served his twenty-year sentence for allegedly murdering Cascio's business partner Alletto, with whose wife Renata Di Mora Pennisi had been having an affair. As it turns out, Cascio and Di Mora had hired a hitman to kill Alletto. The murder was then framed on Pennisi. But now, at the same time as Pennisi's dismissal, the hitman who had gone into hiding has also returned to Vigàta to blackmail Cascio and Di Mora. Since Cascio had not allowed himself to be intimidated, he had to die. With this realization, the case seems solved. But then a second body turns up.

FOLLOWING 14 THE PASSION OF THE SILENT AGER

When young Susanna Mistretta is kidnapped, Montalbano has considerable doubts that this could be a financially motivated crime. Rather, it seems that the young woman was simply overwhelmed with caring for her terminally ill mother and took time off in a somewhat macabre fashion. For it is common knowledge that Susanna's father is not exactly wealthy. And yet, soon enough, the kidnappers come forward and sue for six billion lire. Since the kidnappers claim that Susanna's father knows where he would get the money, Montalbano digs deeper into the family history and comes across Susanna's mother's brother, who still has a huge debt to settle with the family. But how is this debt connected to Susanna's abduction?

FOLLOWING 15 THE BLACK SOUL OF SUMMER

A coincidence leads Commissario Montalbano to his latest case. When he visits Mimi and Beba Augello at their posh holiday villa, their son Salvo disappears. Montalbano finds the boy in a bricked-up apartment under the house. There Montalbano also finds a chest containing a decomposed female corpse. The crime must have happened more than five years ago - and so the building contractor Spitaleri, who was responsible for the construction but also for sealing up the underground apartment, comes under suspicion. But Spitaleri has an alibi for the time of the crime. Montalbano's investigation now leads him to the attractive Adriana, the victim's twin sister. The detective quickly feels attracted to the young woman, but still tries not to be distracted from his actual investigation. And indeed, he discovers a new hot lead that leads him back to Spitalieri. Hoping to convict him despite his alibi, Montalbano crosses a line with Adriana that should really be incompatible with his professional ethics.

FOLLOWING 16 THE WINGS OF SPHINX

Montalbano's long-distance relationship suffers not only from the vacation she spent with a strange man, but also from the brief affair Montalbano had with young Adriana. The discovery of a naked woman's body on the beach distracts the Commissario a little from his private worries. For it turns out to be particularly difficult to find out the identity of the young woman. Only a butterfly tattoo could help to find out who the dead woman is. In fact, a witness soon comes forward stating that his Russian nurse had had just such a tattoo. But an identification turns up negative. Montalbano and his team discover that there are several Russian women with just such a tattoo who seem to be connected in some way to a charity. Apparently, the intentions of the organization are nowhere near as noble as they appear on the outside. But Buona Volonta's influence is such that Montalbano's investigation quickly stalls. But of course the Commissario is not so easily deterred from seeing justice done.

The mixture of suspense and humour, of interesting cases and private drama, of gritty moments and beautiful images, makes these four cases, too, very special crime fiction entertainment. Those who already know and love Commissario Montalbano must of course grab this one. And those who do not yet know the unconventional investigator with his penchant for culinary delights and sharp-tongued sarcasm should take the opportunity to get to know this entertaining crime series. Worth seeing!

Image + Sound: The picturesque landscape shots come across well on the DVDs. The colors are vibrant and the details come out very well in the bright moments. Only in the darker scenes is there slight blurring and minimal image noise to be detected. Overall, all four films are thus on a decent TV level. Good!

Extras: Bonus material has the box unfortunately not to offer. Only DVD tips from the provider are included on the fourth DVD.

Conclusion: Also the four new cases of Commissario Montalbano offer crime thriller pleasure of the particularly tasty variety. Thrilling stories in a picturesque landscape, a great lead actor who brings the multi-layered title character to life in a first-class way and an engaging mix of humor, suspense and drama make Vol. IV of Commissario Montalbano a real must-have for all lovers of European crime entertainment! So the lack of extras hardly weighs negatively!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp