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Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

I came to this after a week of living for all intents in a bankrupt country right next to Italy, the result of decades of much the same corruption and ignorance in a rotten political fraction as this film depicts, looking for threads of the knot by our always richly expressive neighbors.Much like the film on Nixon this is an attempt to show the man, here seven times prime minister of Italy, by entering his mind to imagine pieces and impressions there. Much like Nixon it's a stream of consciousness framed helter skelter as confessional to us with an onslaught of different ways to deliver the image. Nixon was the televised apology we couldn't trust, this is the condemnation in a trial that acquitted Andreotti.The admission of what it is and why comes early, as Andreotti confides to an aide that uncontrolled reactions best reveal what is human about us. All the different camera flows, humorous surreal pieces, songs and unusual edits a way to loosen control, unfreeze him from the historic narrative that he tried to control so much. It's first an act of late justice, a way to wrestle control of images from him and for him to be a stooge on a stage that we set for once.But much like Stone the intended insights on the other end of opera are often too ordinary; to humanize a man as cold and calculating as Nixon, to show that he was lonely, kept awake by guilt and that he did strive for good as he saw it in his own warped way, so that we can leave on the stage a bit of man wrestling inner demons and a bit of enigma. More frequently for my taste it all becomes a matter of flipping through style rather than contemplating a passage. But a few moments truly stand out in the furor. I did like that it's only after an hour that we discover that he has a wife in a house somewhere that he opens up to no more than to anyone else, as if that's the place he accords her in the narrative of recall. The poignant moment of the two of them watching TV that gives a sense of an entire life together, how little and much it means and how endlessly close the difference between the two. As poignant as later when, surrounded by personal guards on one of his late night walks he chances upon a worker unloading a truck, someone much his own age, who doesn't need guards on a simple walk. The glance they exchange suggests vast difference of worlds, yearning to get to the other side. The parting image of him in the trial gives this again; acquitted or not for posterity, still all this pain to control a world as if you'd take some part of it on the way out or have the chance to live another life where you could do all the things you didn't in the one you wasted.

Whether or not you appreciate the masterful, almost flashy direction, it certainly turns what could be an absolute dirge of a political lecture into a cinematic tour de force. That makes it fashionable, hip - and popular. And the difference between a two star TV movie and a 5 star, internationally known cinematic hit. I know which I prefer.Many have suggested watching 'Il Divo' more than once - and so I've just finished my second viewing. The first time has you in a swirling grip as it grabs you by the short and curlies and bombards you with unfolding image after another, a legion of facts and then a metaphorical close-up. It's nigh on impossible to make sense of it all, especially, if like me, your grasp on Italian political history is near nil.But, I didn't watch Il Divo for a history lesson, so does it matter that if I took a test on its facts and dates, my score would still be poor? Perhaps, but as others too have said, a wealth of information is on-line for any that want those details.I first came across both director Paolo Sorrentino and actor Toni Servillo, like many, through the hypnotic "Consequences Of Love", which I must have seen five times now. Servillo, playing the flawed mega politician Giulio Andreotti in this and the enigmatic fallen Mafia mogul in 'Consequences Of' is spellbinding in his portrayal of men who are guarded, cunning and deeply, deeply flawed. These foibles are picked up superbly by Sorrentino's camera.Il Divo doesn't have the simplistic beauty of Consequences.. and ultimately isn't as satisfying but you are left in no doubt that not only have we seen a compelling and colourful portrayal of a life but we have seen the cinematic equivalent of that, too.

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.

I've heard several American viewers complain that this film is all style over substance. I couldn't disagree more.I think that if a viewer is familiar with Italian Political History then this film comes off as absolutely breathtaking, and not just for its amazing filmic style. For one, the performances and interpretations of these real characters are spot on and for another the intelligence and courage to which the script approaches the ethical implications of Il Divo's actions, the breadth of moral exploration, how he defends himself to himself, to others and, often, directly to the viewer, is a welcomed shock and dose of complexity to the often polemic and overly-reductive discourse in Italian politics (not much different than here in the States in that regard). Lastly, for Italians, these events resonate incredibly and speak very much to the current power base in Italy. I truly feel that a lot of Americans are watching this film with cultural blinders on.I won't lie, it is definitely designed for people that already have a strong grasp of the history. It doesn't weigh itself down with long explanations and exposition (except in text at the beginning and end of the film) so if you're coming to this to learn every sordid detail about its subject, or for a plot, even, then you might not find much reward in it. But as an exercise in unpacking a very complicated subject with real style, it's amazing!