Paolo Sorrentino, Il Divo

A sensation when it premiered at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, Il Divo,
Sorrentino’s portrait of the wily Italian politician Giulio Andreotti,
demonstrates how universal such a seemingly specific subject can be. Andreotti,
whose many nicknames include Beelzebub, Il Divo and The Sphinx, served as the
Italian Prime Minister three separate times and is now, at 90, a senator for life.
While Sorrentino’s mesmerizing and sometimes fanciful portrait - with veteran
actor Toni Servillo, whose makeup took over three hours each day, in the title role - has elements of Fellini, it cuts a wholly original path all its own. In Italian and
English (24 minutes).

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