The Commissario Corrado Cattani (Michele Placido) is watching himself on TV and his bitter testimony of a totally lonesome man, deprived of family happiness, even of basic human compassion, drowned in tears of despair and alcohol. To make his situation worse, he finds out that most of the people responsible for the death of his wife Elsa and his daughter Paola are set free, some being found not guilty at all. What is left for him? Is there anything at stake? He is totally alone and really has nothing to lose.. Yes, perhaps nothing to lose but much to gain for people...
This is how LA PIOVRA 3 begins: Cattani left with nothing apart from desire to take revenge and the plot brings us to entirely unexpected turnings of events. The only person condemned for five years in prison (the longest sentence in the instance) is professor Gianfranco Laudeo (Paul Guers). He remains in his small cell with his parrot and directs his people to do wretched things.
LA PIOVRA 3 from the very beginning seems to take a slightly different tone with quite a different pace, yet, it is set deeply in the 1980s. Here comes the director Luigi Perelli known for directing most of the seasons of the series and really supplies the characters, particularly the protagonist with the up-to-its time features. Cosequenty, most of the plots really applied to the audiences of the time and still do apply to us. No wonder it was a smashing success in Italy and in other countries. Here come newcomers in screenwriting, Sandro Petraglia and Stefano Rulli. Mr Petraglia, having made friends with Michele Placido before, really proves a creative approach to the protagonist, il Commissario. He does energize the script here, makes the scenes shorter and faster and brings out what is really best in the series, the authenticity in the depiction of its reality. But it does not mean that there is no continuity with the two previous seasons... What makes this season exceptionally captivating is 'la famiglia mafiosa' Antinari, their characters, their schemes and secrets...
The first episode of the season soon calls our attention to this family that will be in the center of all seven episodes: their most eminent members live in the northern part of Italy, in Milan, Lombardy. Yet, an elderly gentleman who began the whole business lives at a hotel in Taormina, Sicily, and thinks about different chess movements. They own a small island called Segno in the south where they go to rest or bury the privilidged members of their family in their private cemetery. Most importantly, however, they own a bank revealing contacts with different banks of the world, the Antinari bank....Indeed, a suspicious family for Corrado Cattani to figure out. How does he get into the mysterious family relations and businesses of questionable foundations if not through unpredictable events and a beautiful woman, Giulia. Again, as it has been the case before, the tragedy begins with the most innocent children... It will be a long way that will include various levels of society...but as a hero, the one who helped their little girl Greta (Alice di Giuseppe), he will make his way to their core.
One of the major strengths of the season which is not the longest in time but has the biggest number of episodes is the development of various characters. Apart from the Antinaris, who include a sophisticated personality of Carlo Antinari (Pierre Vaneck), lost, in a way, within the labirynth of the businesses and powers, Anna Antinari (Marie Laforet) who indeed appears to have found the wrong way in her life, the reasonable and cruel grandfather Nicola (played by unforgettable Alain Cuny), we are introduced with, perhaps, one of the three key figures of all LA PIOVRA: that is Tano Cariddi (played by Remo Girone). His first scene is so simple, he is in total shadow of the grandfather and yet, there will be a day when he will be the most powerful man to be questioned, investigated and seemingly put the blame on. We see the man of incredible corruption, indefatigable methods and bravura ill-ambition as clearly the one brought up in the Antinari family. Opposed to Dino Alessi (Adalberto Maria Meri), another man of wretched ways but condensed to single interests, he rises up and makes his way to the most brutal realizations for the future. Indeed, noone forgets Tano. Carlo Antinari is an interesting character. Formely dreaming of becoming a pianist, he was forced to make his way to the dirty business by war and, as he says, control the wealth and poverty of the world. In contrast to those comes a poor family Viviani with their tragic end and simple friars of Umbria where Corrado Cattani spends some days as peace and quiet for his tormented soul, namely Friar Bernardo. Mind you his simplicity and his austere ways to get to the protagonist's mind. A very interesting character and the one that really contributes to the story here is agent Bert Di Donato (played by Cyrus Elias) and his interesting assumptions. Finally, one Agrippina (what a Roman name) who got a gift and the person behind it...
The music score by Ennio Morricone and particularly his "Intimamente" beautifully fits to the content of the season. The tunes supplied with some haunting effects do resemble the Segno island with its mystery and the terrible murder that takes place there... That works well with such lovable locations like Giardini Naxos or Taormina with their villas, views of the sea and gardens.
And the love story that no season can actually do without. This one is more believable, more appealing and memorable. Cattani gets closer and closer to Giulia finding out so much and changing something within him as well. She appears to be his remedy.
It is really worth finding time and watching these seven episodes as a unique sequel that makes the whole story even more interesting and more memorable. The episodes are not that long and the script is engrossing.
This is how LA PIOVRA 3 begins: Cattani left with nothing apart from desire to take revenge and the plot brings us to entirely unexpected turnings of events. The only person condemned for five years in prison (the longest sentence in the instance) is professor Gianfranco Laudeo (Paul Guers). He remains in his small cell with his parrot and directs his people to do wretched things.
LA PIOVRA 3 from the very beginning seems to take a slightly different tone with quite a different pace, yet, it is set deeply in the 1980s. Here comes the director Luigi Perelli known for directing most of the seasons of the series and really supplies the characters, particularly the protagonist with the up-to-its time features. Cosequenty, most of the plots really applied to the audiences of the time and still do apply to us. No wonder it was a smashing success in Italy and in other countries. Here come newcomers in screenwriting, Sandro Petraglia and Stefano Rulli. Mr Petraglia, having made friends with Michele Placido before, really proves a creative approach to the protagonist, il Commissario. He does energize the script here, makes the scenes shorter and faster and brings out what is really best in the series, the authenticity in the depiction of its reality. But it does not mean that there is no continuity with the two previous seasons... What makes this season exceptionally captivating is 'la famiglia mafiosa' Antinari, their characters, their schemes and secrets...
The first episode of the season soon calls our attention to this family that will be in the center of all seven episodes: their most eminent members live in the northern part of Italy, in Milan, Lombardy. Yet, an elderly gentleman who began the whole business lives at a hotel in Taormina, Sicily, and thinks about different chess movements. They own a small island called Segno in the south where they go to rest or bury the privilidged members of their family in their private cemetery. Most importantly, however, they own a bank revealing contacts with different banks of the world, the Antinari bank....Indeed, a suspicious family for Corrado Cattani to figure out. How does he get into the mysterious family relations and businesses of questionable foundations if not through unpredictable events and a beautiful woman, Giulia. Again, as it has been the case before, the tragedy begins with the most innocent children... It will be a long way that will include various levels of society...but as a hero, the one who helped their little girl Greta (Alice di Giuseppe), he will make his way to their core.
One of the major strengths of the season which is not the longest in time but has the biggest number of episodes is the development of various characters. Apart from the Antinaris, who include a sophisticated personality of Carlo Antinari (Pierre Vaneck), lost, in a way, within the labirynth of the businesses and powers, Anna Antinari (Marie Laforet) who indeed appears to have found the wrong way in her life, the reasonable and cruel grandfather Nicola (played by unforgettable Alain Cuny), we are introduced with, perhaps, one of the three key figures of all LA PIOVRA: that is Tano Cariddi (played by Remo Girone). His first scene is so simple, he is in total shadow of the grandfather and yet, there will be a day when he will be the most powerful man to be questioned, investigated and seemingly put the blame on. We see the man of incredible corruption, indefatigable methods and bravura ill-ambition as clearly the one brought up in the Antinari family. Opposed to Dino Alessi (Adalberto Maria Meri), another man of wretched ways but condensed to single interests, he rises up and makes his way to the most brutal realizations for the future. Indeed, noone forgets Tano. Carlo Antinari is an interesting character. Formely dreaming of becoming a pianist, he was forced to make his way to the dirty business by war and, as he says, control the wealth and poverty of the world. In contrast to those comes a poor family Viviani with their tragic end and simple friars of Umbria where Corrado Cattani spends some days as peace and quiet for his tormented soul, namely Friar Bernardo. Mind you his simplicity and his austere ways to get to the protagonist's mind. A very interesting character and the one that really contributes to the story here is agent Bert Di Donato (played by Cyrus Elias) and his interesting assumptions. Finally, one Agrippina (what a Roman name) who got a gift and the person behind it...
The music score by Ennio Morricone and particularly his "Intimamente" beautifully fits to the content of the season. The tunes supplied with some haunting effects do resemble the Segno island with its mystery and the terrible murder that takes place there... That works well with such lovable locations like Giardini Naxos or Taormina with their villas, views of the sea and gardens.
And the love story that no season can actually do without. This one is more believable, more appealing and memorable. Cattani gets closer and closer to Giulia finding out so much and changing something within him as well. She appears to be his remedy.
It is really worth finding time and watching these seven episodes as a unique sequel that makes the whole story even more interesting and more memorable. The episodes are not that long and the script is engrossing.