Modern Monsters Splendidly visual, Il Divo is anything but a biopic of Giulio Andreotti, an austere and prominent Italian politician, 25 times minister and 7 times Prime Minister between 1964 and 1989. It is more of a portrait, fragmented and elusive as they best portraits are; it also offers an unique view on politics and murder during the bonfire of vanities that were Italian politics at the near end of the 20th century.The only creature that can live long and prosper in a bonfire is a salamander, and that's precisely what Andreotti (Toni Sorvillo, extraordinary) looks and acts like. Devoid of any visible emotions save for his hand motions, translated to Fanny Ardant in a transient role by his devoted secretary, the Presidente (of the Council, not the Republic, and that's the problem) "doesn't succumb to lesser vices" but ice cream. He doesn't drink anything but water, he doesn't smoke, he is not cheating on his wife Livia (Anna Bonaiuto, first seen being bored during the blueprint for the bunga-bunga parties to come, during which the Finance ministry makes a fool of himself). Prone to migraines, he toasts with aspirin and read gialli in the Senate. He is as opaque as opaque can be before it gets dark.Andreotti is by all means a survivor and a loner, a condition emphasised by his constant crossing of gigantic halls of power, in which no one or nothing can come in his way but a Persian cat with vairon eyes. He is opinionated to the point of brilliance, once telling Pope John XXIII "Pardon me Your Holiness but you do not know anything about the Vatican". He has a dry sense of humour, the mere shadow of a smile touching Sorvillo's lips when he's asked the question "Have you ever danced?", to which he answers "All my life, Madam."His entourage, presented one by one at the movie beginning, is a clique of rather shady Christian Democrats, including a cardinal nicknamed "His Healthiness". When they congregate at Andreotti's, his secretary announce them by saying "Storm clouds are gathering", an excellent definition of what is happening. They plot their next moves, wishing but failing to have the Prime Minister elected President. They exchange jokes about past Popes. Andreotti hardly smiles. In a scene stupendous for the banality with which it suggests the growing chasm between him and his wive, they just hold hands watching TV, switching from a news program to a variety show. He doesn't look at her, lost in thought; she looks at his profile for a long while, searching for the smallest trace of the man she once married. She does not find anything.Last part of Il Divo deals with Andreotti's trials and tribulations. The trial of the century opens, based on his presumed links with Mafia boss Toto Riina (Enzo Rai, scary as hell). We know the two met because the event was shown earlier in the movie. Still, Andreotti is so convincing in his denial that one doubts what he just witnessed. Was it magical realism, like the scene in which a skateboard incongruously rolls through the Senate hallway, or was it history? It's impossible to say. Andreotti is an extra-terrestrial, a very cautious turtle carrying on him the weight of political decades, and you can feel every gram of it leadening, but never weakening his stance. The movie is a f***ing masterpiece.

Desertman84 Il Divo is a mesmerizing Italian biographical drama film about former Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreottia,a seven-time prime minister of Italy notorious for his alleged ties to the Mafia.The story spans the period from Andreotti's seventh election in 1992, to his failed bid for the presidency of the Italian Republic, to the Tangentopoli bribe scandal, until his trial in 1995.It stars Toni Servillo as Andreotti, together with Anna Bonaiuto,Piera Degli Esposti,Paolo Graziosi,Giulio Bosetti,Flavio Bucci,Carlo Buccirosso and Cristina Serafini.Also,it was written and directed Paolo Sorrentino.After watching this film,I was astonished on Sorrentino's ability to combine probably even surpass The Godfather saga as it a smart political film that features a fascinating villainous politician.This is a spectacular story about corruption in high places and absorption of great knowledge in Italian politics.While the web of corruption in this political thriller can be hard for a non-Italian to follow, the visuals and the intrigue are compelling and thrilling in equal measure as director Sorrentino avoids the dreary conventions of the biopic in favor of a cheeky mix of music montages, dramatic re-enactments and great musical score that gives the movie and the viewer energy and vitality.

davdecrane Pompous, pretentious, portentous, and unwatchable. The director assumes a great familiarity with Italy's fractious post-war politics but that's understandable: he's made his film for a domestic audience. But the inability to ever truly mount and sustain a narrative is unforgivable for any and all audiences. Enamored of pretty cinematography (arguably ill-suited to the subject matter at hand) and fashionably business-suited (if generally unattractive) men marching to and fro in ornate governmental offices, the director tries for a Guy Ritchie flavor with freeze frames and silly captions. But Ritchie (like him or not) at least believes in action and story; this director makes even the famously discursive Fellini look like a slave to plot.Woe to those who stayed with the movie longer than a polite half-hour to see if any modicum of story-telling sense would come to imbue it. A real embarrassment, especially in light of the Euro-praise and the ridiculous IMDb rating.You've been warned.

DrKDB The cinematography is/was excellent. I have to admit that this movie, because of my lack of familiarity with the subject was a hard thing to watch. It's like a thick heavy piece of dark multi-grain bread. You know it has a lot of substance but it's hard to enjoy.I'm one of those people at the movie rental places that the clerk is always telling, "you know....this is subtitled." As if I'm going to drop it on the counter- realizing, suddenly (oh my God) that this is A FOREIGN FILM- and, realizing my mistake, thanks to that warning, run back down the aisle to grab a copy of "Police Academy 12".But, that's not me. I really do enjoy foreign cinema- most of it is incredibly rich and fulfilling. I just want to give everyone a little 'heads-up' without revealing any 'spoilers', that this baby is thick, it's dark, and like the aforementioned bread, nutritious but not very enjoyable to digest.