Detective Montalbano: Episodes 1-3 Review

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(More customer reviews)One of the problems I find with books that are made into movies is that the directors and writers seldom remember the original plot, let alone the place and pace of the characters, which is happily not the case with this DVD series. The filming, plotlines and casting in these first three episodes are spot on and although it takes a little time to get used to the quick subtitles this, my friends, is very good entertainment and well worth the price. Luca Zingaretti in the lead role of Inspector (Detective) Montalbano is one of the best detectives you'll find on the big (or little) screen today and Zingaretti and the great cast of actors and Sicilian locations make it happen with convincing style. Zingaretti is Montalbano to the proverbial T and producer Carlo Degli Esposti and director Alberto Sironi have captured the heart, sweat and soul of Andrea Camilleri's three books; The Snack Thief, The Voice of the Violin and The Shape of Water that you'll find on these initial disks. Although one reviewer complained about the fast pace of the subtitles, I found it to be convincing enough since it falls in line with most Italian speakers I know and any conversations I tried in Italy.
The subtitle pace annoyed me initially too until I realized it matched the actual speech patterns. Then I chuckled. Besides, with DVDs what we miss, we can always go back and pick up with the rewind.
I've spent the last year turning some friends on to Camilleri's works because they're just well written and enjoyable so now I'll champion this DVD series for the same reasons. These are anything but the same old plots or whudunnit mysteries.Buy the books and buy the DVD collection. This is Italian (Sicilian) gold and friends, it shines!
Will other reviewers agree with me? Probably not because like most of us, what we read we envision in our mind's eye and form our own interpretations. We all occasionally wear rose colored glasses which might explain love, folks who believe pug dogs are cute, and probably our reviews here.

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Wallander: Episodes 1-3 (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)The wonderful, Basset Hound-faced Krister Henriksson, a great Swedish actor, is simply irresistible and irreplaceable as Inspector Kurt Wallander. Thus far by my count there are 26 episodes in which Henriksson has played Wallander, from 2005 to date. (I just saw his latest last night, but I can't recall the title.)
Created by author Henning Mankell (NO, this is not an alias for Diane Fossum!), Wallander is the epitomy of common day-to-day homicidal inspection in Sweden. Mankell has said the story is the vital thing--he uses events in Sweden for inspiration--the cops come in second place to the story.
Wallander as a character seems to be a raging controversy because Kenneth Brannagh deigned to play Wallander in an all-English-speaking series. The big fans of that series are rather pissed off about the original Swedish versions. WHY?
As for Britain/Brannagh, let me see if I can explain carefully, when it comes to foreign offerings:
Whenever someone comes along to do an English remake of something non-English, it automatically loses its cultural and ethnic contexts. Wallander is set in Sweden, with Swedes and their stories, showing the function of the Swedish police (in this case, the city of Ystad).
I don't think most people pay attention to how silly it looks for this world to be suddenly "translated" into English. When Americans or Brits do a remake, they usually "Anglicize" the story first, unless doing something historical. Yet the British version of Wallander is still "Swedish", set in modern Sweden, TRIES to take from Mankell's original stories, and for all those reasons, it fails.
And though I am a big fan of Brannagh, he is no Henriksson. So, if they had made, say, an ENGLISH Wallander set in London or Bristol or Coventry, I'd go for it, I'd love it because it would be based on the Swedish Wallander, pay due homage, and show us the equivalent information set in modern England. That would have been well worth the investment.
Anyway, pay no mind to the shouting about the English remake. Henriksson is barely matched by Brannagh's silly, semi-confused portrayal. Here you will get all the good Swedish atmosphere (and GENUINE), the laid-back Swedish acting that is nonetheless so satisfying...and a good, sane approach to police forensics in Sweden. It seems we have such a hard time understanding policework in Europe, and I am especially taken by the weird attitudes I see in Sweden, Norway, Finland and France.
Wallander is a treat for me because I knew so many cops like him. He has his demons and pains, but he has a smart, calm and tricky demeanor as a homicide inspector. He lives, he enjoys his opera, coffee and aged whiskey, he loves his daughter Linda, who is also a cop. Though his theories are mostly put out there so he himself may discredit them, it beautifully shows him thinking aloud. No Poirot or Holmes magic tricks here...just meat-n-potatoes inspecting, the kind I know from my own life.
I'd say not to waste money on Brannagh. Get the real thing, and savor it, the way Swedes linger over coffee and snow--but learn to read subtitles at light speed, unless you know Swedish.
By the way, this set consists of episodes 1-3, with the next available set consisting of episodes 4-6. Stick to only these two sets. As far as I know, out of the 26 episodes, this is all you're going to get here. All the rest are in PAL region 2 format, available only for Britain apparently.
Oh, well, I thought they had Brannagh! In the U.S. we like the genuine stuff, and the real thing: Henriksson. As to buying, I won't budge on this until all 26-to-date episodes are availbale as a set HERE.

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Inspector Coliandro: Episodes 1-4 (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)It's hard to resist a well written (or performed) mystery. Henning Mankell knows how to write mysteries that will keep you entranced to the very end and the Swedish productions of his novels are equally compelling. While I love the Kenneth Branagh PBS Wallender's, I believe this series is even better! It has a very strong cast, with Krister Henricksson as a sensative and thoughtful Kurt Wallander and Johanna Sallstrom as his, now, police officer daughter Linda, leading the cast. These are well worth reading the subtitles for, and are certainly mysteries I will watch over and over, as well as share with friends.

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