Divo (Il)

Ordinarily, a film of part of the life of Giulio Andreotti – the great survivor of Italian politics of the late twentieth century – will not in itself attract worldwide plaudits. Rather, it is the spectacular and innovative way in which director Paolo Sorrentino tells the story that makes this film a joy to watch. Deft handling of film speed, colouring, framing, movement and focussing, married to superb editing and judicious use of silence and music makes this film a veritable tour de force. Every frame of every scene is superbly styled. Add in Andreotti’s dark humour and dry wit, the result is a film that never tires, never bores. If only ‘The Iron Lady’ was technically as bold and politically as ambiguous.The music stretches from Trio’s 1982 hit ‘Da Da Da’ to Renato Zero singing ‘The Best Years of Our Lives’, via Faure’s ‘Pavane’ and much orchestral excerpts of Sibelius, that Nordic giant whose sparse music surprisingly matches Andreotti’s icy reserve. Equally surprising is that there is little or no opera, yet like a grand opera plot, murder and farce go hand in hand in Sorrentino’s staging. For instance, what the viewer first thinks are people queuing for the bathroom at a party, is in fact (once we turn the corner) people waiting for an audience with Andreotti.Strictly, to enjoy the show, you do not have to know who is who and what is what, though knowledge of Italian politics and the times of the Red Brigade certainly heighten the pleasure. And for all the showmanship, the film has a deadly serious philosophical aspect: was Andreotti “perpetrating evil to guarantee good”? As one journalist puts to him, was he the greatest criminal in modern Italian history, or the most persecuted?In Andreotti’s obituary in ‘The Guardian’, Donald Sassoon reported that Andreotti lost his temper momentarily when he saw Sorrentino’s film, but “then admitted that the film was aesthetically remarkable.” How apt!Extras on my DVD include a ‘Making of’, combining contributions from the director, producers, actors, and crew with behind-the-scenes filming. There are also twelve minutes of deleted scenes, a seven-minute special effects featurette, and two interviews with Sorrentino that total thirty minutes.

A film that focuses solely on one of modern Italy's most enigmatic politicians but only a small part of that life, from when his seventh premiership started through to when that government quickly collapsed and he failed in a bid for the then vacant Italian presidency, followed by his indictment and trial for Mafia murder connections as the major Mafia trials started due to the prior efforts of the recently assassinated state prosecutor Falcone . Like many other UK viewers I had only a general basic knowledge of Italian politics so had to watch the film a few times before the characters and their names became familiar enough that the plot started to make sense. Well, sense in that whatever has or has not been proven as the closing credit story lines show the case is still very open as to what Andreotti did or did not do.But in turn that is what makes this such an enthralling film with a free wheeling approach to depicting events in that limited time frame as pieces of hints are placed in different scenes to be linked back to later. And as for Andreotti the central performance of Tony Servillo, delivers why this man was a survivor from the post WWII years till currently, constantly hiding his feelings, being non-emotive in success and disappointment and alert to balancing the interests of his supporters in his own defence while not exposing himself to personal or public attack as the bodies pile up. The slouched shoulders and down at luck countenance offset the endless dry wisecracks as different persons challenge him as to what is the truth especially in the scenes with his wife and his priest. Though not stated in the film, one is left feeling that even if all the claims are true, in Andreotti's mind the prime need to have authoritarian government to save Italy from the communists and socialists justified the ends, including the sacrificing of his old political colleague Moro to the Red Brigades after his kidnapping.The film is brilliantly scripted, acted, and edited plus makes fascinating use of music and sound effects to maximise the impact of the story and events. Definitely a film that will bear being seen several times.The only minor gripe is that a few of the extras (notably the deleted scenes and special effects video) do not have English sub titles.

A rich visual experience, enhanced by the music soundtrack, well worth watching as an exercise in cinematography. Nevertheless, at the end we knew little more about Andreotti himself than we did at the start. OK, the film was never intended as a documentary, but each scene was a (beautifully filmed) vignette on its own, not necessarily connected to the preceding or the subsequent scene. This lack of connectedness made it difficult to form a coherent moral judgment of the man, so I was left feeling, on balance, a little bit disappointed - I wanted to have an opinion about Andreotti but couldn't form one.

This is an excellent film that probes the murky underwaters of Italian post-war politics. Vivid and engaging style with an excellent and appropriate soundtrack that captures the essence of the film. This is European cinema at its most incisive best exploring the seamless rise and public fall from grace of the grey eminence of the solidly anti-Communist Christian Democrat coalition. The inner monologue of Andreotti explains how he justified his actions to himself during the grim years of lead.

This is a well directed film, dramatically telling the story of Italian politics connecting much with Andreotti's influence in Italian politics over a long period of time. Toni Servillo's performance as a poker faced politician always keeping his cards close to his chest helps to make Andreotti one of the most secretive and enigmatic leaders of the 20th Century. As a study in politics, it is an outstanding masterpiece.