- Italy
IL DIVO
Synopsis
Giulio Andreotti was Italy’s prime minister seven times and, for more than four decades, synonymous with power in Rome. Paolo Sorrentino’s “Il Divo” (Italy 2008) shows the man his opponents called “Beelzebub”: calm, impenetrable, moving between affairs of government, churchgoing, books and receptions. Around him, political opponents disappear, above all the kidnapped and murdered Aldo Moro, and the Mafia’s role in postwar Italy reaches into his circle. The film follows no single life story, but the inner workings of a system that Andreotti embodies – and the riddle of what this man knew.
Sorrentino narrates politics as intrigue and stagecraft, with a central figure who shows almost no emotion. The film screened in competition at Cannes in 2008, where it won the Jury Prize; it was subsequently shown in Toronto and was nominated for the 2010 Academy Award for Best Makeup. “Il Divo” was shown at Around the World in 14 Films in Berlin in 2008.
Festival
Shown at the 2008 edition of Around the World in 14 Films.
