European Films

The uncrowned king of post-war Italian politics, Giulio Andreotti, might be the subject of Paolo Sorrentino’s nominal biopic Il divo, but it is as an incisive portrait of Italian politics in general that it impresses. Unlike Stephen Frears’ The Queen, in which an icon of power became human through solid acting and a strong screenplay, Andreotti, a seven-time Prime Minister and senator for life, remains an impenetrable enigma in Sorrentino’s film, hiding, like he does in real life, behind a barrage of funnily ironic remarks and a smoke screen carefully orchestrated by himself and his kowtowing entourage. The first 30 minutes of the film are pure filmmaking genius but the remaining 70 minutes might prove rather abstract for those unfamiliar with Italian politics, though as an allegory of how the Italian political machine works in general it is still as close to reality as any film is likely to get. The film is one the Competition entries at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival.

 

After presenting a glossary of terms needed to make some sense of the intricate web of Italian power politics, Sorrentino hurries away from the conventions of stuffy political biopics as quickly as he can, using humour (including a quote from Andreotti’s mother), Fight Club-like camerawork and editing, explanatory credits that are mirrored or upside down before finding the right direction, a dryly witty voice over by Andreotti (Toni Servillo) and a frenetically cut sequence of "natural" deaths and murders associated at various times with the politician and his interests. Completely off-kilter and set to blaring punk music by Cassius, the sequence is a brilliant coup de theatre of a director who displays a confidence in his abilities like few other contemporary Italian directors do.

 

Of course the momentum of this assault on the senses is difficult to maintain, and though Sorrentino references it throughout the film, the narrative enters calmer waters with the introduction of the Andreotti gang that was part of the seventh parliament headed by Andreotti into the early1990s. This is where all audiences can witness the general internal mechanics of Italian politics – with its ties to big businesses, the Vatican and criminal organisations – but only those familiar with the names and situations will see something less abstract. The biting humour of the apparently eternally uptight Andreotti remains, as does his necessity to take aspirins against his migraine.

 

The latter part of the film is set in a courtroom in Sicily, where Andreotti was put on trial for alleged ties to the Mafia, and this is where the film is bogged down by specifics and runs out of steam. It is abundantly clear from the beginning that the senator is someone who is a survivor who outlives and outwits all his competitors, but Andreotti’s triumph here is somewhat muted by having the outcome relegated to a simple postscript on screen.

 

Servillo (also a presence in the other Italian Cannes Competition item Gomorra), in his third collaboration with Sorrentino, is serviceable, but since little attempt is made to really fathom the man behind the mask he is reduced to impersonating rather than embodying Andreotti. Other supporting actors are fine, though there are hardly any standouts (Fanny Ardant makes an appearance as an ambassador’s wife early on before being dropped from the narrative altogether).

 

Cinematography and production design are both top notch, with both cinematographer Luca Bigazzi and production designer Lino Fiorito clearly relishing the opportunity to work on a film that is so different in approach from the straightforward narratives that form the bulk of Italian films made today. Servillo is almost unrecognisable under the makeup of Vittorio Sodano (who also designed the makeup for Mel Gibson's Maya epic Apocalypto). Music choices, both classical and more contemporary, are excellent and often played in counterpoint or for humorous effect.

 

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