An intensely political film so wildly inventive and witty that it will become a touchstone for years to come,
Il Divo is a masterpiece for maverick writer-director Paolo Sorrentino. Not merely chronicling the career of seven-time Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti but also zooming in on the enigmatic politico's character, the pic features an astonishing degree of craftsmanship and a towering performance by Toni Servillo… This is a brave, bold film… whose ramifications are huge…
First entering government in 1947, Andreotti--currently sitting as a life senator--and his Christian Democrat party basically ruled Italy as a one-party system for 44 years, until the "Tangentopoli," or Bribesville, scandals finally toppled the party's hold. Since the early 1990s, Andreotti has been implicated in a wide variety of illegal activities, including Mafia connections, but he's managed to be acquitted of all charges. In
Il Divo, Sorrentino turns expert hunting dog, convincingly laying scandals of the past 40 years at Andreotti's feet… That he does so with a bewitching combination of humor and bravado only increases his punch… The film's triumph, however, isn't simply the issues raised, but also the way Sorrentino plumbs the sphinx-like depths of Andreotti's personality with a delightfully piquant originality that, paired with lensing evoking Sokurov and Scorsese, is little short of breathtaking.--Jay Weissberg,
Variety. Winner of the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year.
VIFF acknowledges the support of the Istituto Italiano di Cultura in Vancouver in presenting the films from Italy
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