Inspector Montalbano
Discussion
We always watch the BBC4 foreign Saturday night slot. This is quite different to the more morose Scandi shows that have been aired, but very enjoyable all the same.
Last week's was quite gruesome with the guys being thrown to their deaths in a well.
Good Alfa action, too. The current series has 159 police cars!
Last week's was quite gruesome with the guys being thrown to their deaths in a well.
Good Alfa action, too. The current series has 159 police cars!
AnotherClarkey said:
My wife is Italian and she has to use the English subtitles sometimes - it is very Sicilian in parts!. Excellent swearing.
One of my friends is from Bologna and she says the same, sometimes her eyes drift down to the subtitles as the dialect they use is very regional. Apparently Italy has a much bigger North/South divide than England...I am learning Italian, still very much a beginner though, but of all the Italian programmes I have watched this is the one I find most difficult to understand any part of the dialogue without subtitles.
onomatopoeia said:
One of my friends is from Bologna and she says the same, sometimes her eyes drift down to the subtitles as the dialect they use is very regional. Apparently Italy has a much bigger North/South divide than England...
I am learning Italian, still very much a beginner though, but of all the Italian programmes I have watched this is the one I find most difficult to understand any part of the dialogue without subtitles.
The UK has many accents but very few actual dialects where the language is significantly different. I used to work in the Veneto and the dialect there is more like Catalan than Italian in many cases. There is also significant difference even between cities that are close together like Venice and Padua. Some people (generally OAP's) in the village where my other half comes from who can't really speak Italian and never bother.I am learning Italian, still very much a beginner though, but of all the Italian programmes I have watched this is the one I find most difficult to understand any part of the dialogue without subtitles.
I've been watching this as well and really enjoying it. What fascinates me is that the characters either live in a huge apartment or house full of antiques or they live in a one room hovel. Does nobody on Sicily live in a three bed semi full of Ikea furniture?
Oh, and the streets always seem so empty. The most cars you see are parked outside the police station.
Oh, and the streets always seem so empty. The most cars you see are parked outside the police station.
stevejh said:
I've been watching this as well and really enjoying it. What fascinates me is that the characters either live in a huge apartment or house full of antiques or they live in a one room hovel. Does nobody on Sicily live in a three bed semi full of Ikea furniture?
Montalbano lives in a B&B http://www.lacasadimontalbano.com/I was talking to a Sicilian last week, I could have asked her about IKEA furniture and three bed semi detached houses ...
Luftgekuhlt said:
He's on a one man crusade to make knackered old Fiats look cool.
Indeed! 'La Tipo grigio di Montalbano' even has its own facebook page!When I was in Italy many people I knew were hanging on to old Tipos - once all the loose bits have fallen off and been dispensed with they seem totally indestructible.
Grandad Gaz said:
Quick question about last nights episode as I think I may have dozed off for a couple of minutes.
What was the connection between the mad old couple at the start and the plot?
Cheers
The first blow-up doll was found in their flat - although I'm not sure how the murderer got it there. Spent all day yesterday moving house so was also dozing off all through the evening so I may have missed a crucial bit.What was the connection between the mad old couple at the start and the plot?
Cheers
Edited by Grandad Gaz on Sunday 11th November 18:04
On a side note, I found the first ever episode from 1999 online and it was fascinating to see how little has changed, all the same characters played by the same actors (with a bit more hair), and the same cars. We also saw a lot more of Livia (in both senses).
I'm enjoying it too, apart from the enforced suspension of disbelief!
It's set less than ten years earlier, in that time his Tipo has barely changed, yet he's gone from being tall, long in the leg with a thick head of hair, to being short, particularly short legged, bow legged and bald
The same with Caterella, clearly recognisable from his character, but that's about it.
They could have made some effort to cast actors with at least a passing resemblance, if it was set decades earlier then yes, but for just a few years earlier?
It's set less than ten years earlier, in that time his Tipo has barely changed, yet he's gone from being tall, long in the leg with a thick head of hair, to being short, particularly short legged, bow legged and bald
The same with Caterella, clearly recognisable from his character, but that's about it.
They could have made some effort to cast actors with at least a passing resemblance, if it was set decades earlier then yes, but for just a few years earlier?
Balmoral said:
I'm enjoying it too, apart from the enforced suspension of disbelief!
It's set less than ten years earlier, in that time his Tipo has barely changed, yet he's gone from being tall, long in the leg with a thick head of hair, to being short, particularly short legged, bow legged and bald
The same with Caterella, clearly recognisable from his character, but that's about it.
They could have made some effort to cast actors with at least a passing resemblance, if it was set decades earlier then yes, but for just a few years earlier?
I thought that most of the characters were immediately recognizable - Mimi this week was, as was Fazio's son a couple of weeks ago - but without doubt the young Livia is even better looking than the older one (who was pretty gorgeous anyway..................)It's set less than ten years earlier, in that time his Tipo has barely changed, yet he's gone from being tall, long in the leg with a thick head of hair, to being short, particularly short legged, bow legged and bald
The same with Caterella, clearly recognisable from his character, but that's about it.
They could have made some effort to cast actors with at least a passing resemblance, if it was set decades earlier then yes, but for just a few years earlier?
And the cars are all the bloody same but there was a 75 in it this week, and a Mk1 Golf which was a little out of time for 1991.
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