Il Ladro di Merendine (1999) [DVD5 PAL]
Taken from Il thief of snacks
Directed by: Alberto Sironi
Written by: Andrea Camilleri, Francesco Bruni
Original title Inspector Montalbano
Country Italy
Year 1999 - in production
TV series format
Yellow, detective genre
Seasons 15
Episodes 37
Duration 100 min (episode)
Original language Italian, Sicilian
16: 9 ratio
Interpreters and characters
Creator Andrea Camilleri
Interpreters and characters
Luca Zingaretti: Salvo Montalbano
Cesare Bocci: Mimì Augello
Peppino Mazzotta: Giuseppe Fazio
Angelo Russo: Agatino Catarella
Isabell Sollman: Ingrid Sjöström
Davide Lo Verde: Galluzzo
Marcello Perracchio: Dr. Pasquano
Roberto Nobile: Nicolò Zito
Katharina Böhm: Livia Burlando (st. 1-8)
Lina Perned: Livia Burlando (st. 9)
Sonia Bergamasco: Livia Burlando (st.10+)
Katharina Böhm (Livia Burlando), Guia Jelo (Mrs. Lapecora), Jonis Bascir (Fahrid), Mouna Noureddine (Aisha), Afef Jnifen (Karima), Renato Scarpa (Lohengrin Pera), Hamza Choukri (François)
Language: Italian Dolby Digital 5.1
Inspector Montalbano investigates the death of the accountant Lapecora, killed with a kitchen knife in the elevator of his building. When questioned, the accountant's wife blames her husband's lover, a Tunisian woman named Karima, who does the job, for what happened. At the same time, a fishing boat arrives in the small port of Vigata carrying a dead man killed by a blast of machine guns, during a boarding by a Tunisian coastguard. Karima with her six-year-old son, François run away from the house where they live but Karima is kidnapped while her son runs away and manages to escape. A witness records the license plate of the car and reports it to the commissioner, who by investigating turns out to be a car of the Italian secret service. The commissioner by chance passing in front of the school sees a gathering of vociferous people because among them there is a thief of the schoolchildren's snacks but no one knows who he is. The inspector found little François hosts him in his house, where he is lovingly cared for by Livia, the inspector's girlfriend. Little Francois recognizes on television the man killed on the fishing boat, his uncle Ahmed Moussa, so his mother Karima Moussa is the sister of the dead man killed on the high seas. During an inspection of Karima's home, the inspector finds a savings book in the name of Karima, with 300,000 million lire deposited, an enormous amount, even for a prostitute. Meanwhile Montalbano, continuing with the investigation, he discovers that Ahmed Moussa was an important Tunisian terrorist, whom the Tunisian secret services ambushed with the help of the Italian secret services, to kill him. Karima and Lapecora are involved in this international intrigue, Lapecora was a cover for the illegal activities that Ahmed Moussa wanted to start in Sicily through his sister Karima. Karima being a witness was killed by the Tunisian secret service and her body concealed. Aisha, a friend of Karima's, is also killed. It is necessary to hide for safety, little Francois, who is entrusted to Augello's sister, who lives in the open countryside. The savings book with the 300,000 million is deposited by a notary who will transfer the money to the bank and give Francois the money, when he has reached the age of majority but it is necessary that Karim Moussa's death be absolutely ascertained. The investigations showed that on the kitchen knife there are the fingerprints of Lapecora's wife, who is arrested and confronted with the evidence she confesses that she killed him because in addition to hosting a prostitute in his house, he had given her 300,000 million lire. Montalbano meets Lohengrin Pera, a colonel of the Italian secret services who tells him what he knows about the history of the Moussa. Unbeknownst to Pera, Montalbano records Pera's statements with a hidden camera in the library. Montalbano tells Pera what he knows about the story and Pera asks Montalbano how much he wants for his silence. Montalbano wants little, only that Karima's recognizable body is found. Pera tells him that it is not possible, then Montalbano gets angry and breaks his glasses, shows him the camera and blackmails him, or he finds the body or he will give the reporters the recording. The next day the body is found and Francois will be able to have the inheritance. Montalbano wishing to adopt Francois proposes to Lidia to marry.