Movie review: "I Divo" is a must-see for political junkies

A must-see for political junkies of any nationality, this dramatization of the late career of Giulio Andreotti won the jury prize at Cannes last year with good reason.

May 28, 2009 at 8:05PM
Toni Servillo as Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti in "Il Divo."
Toni Servillo as Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti in "Il Divo." (Credit: INDIGO FILM/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

IL DIVO A must-see for political junkies of any nationality, this dramatization of the late career of Giulio Andreotti, one of modern Italy's most enigmatic leaders, won the jury prize at Cannes last year with good reason (★★★★ out of four stars). Director Paolo Sorrentino takes the docudrama to a new level with his sophisticated portrait of the seven-time prime minister who reigned during the bloody Red Brigade period, among others. As the elegantly inscrutable Andreotti, Toni Servillo gets the audience as close as possible to the subtle layerings of a man who was powermonger and philosopher, who was tied to the Mafia but never convicted, and who enjoyed strolling empty streets at night (trailed by bodyguards) more than public adulation. The arresting soundtrack ranges from Sibelius to Beth Orton. Among his other achievements, Andreotti is also the master of the dry quip. When a woman at a social affair asks him, "Do you dance?" he replies, "All my life." (7:15 & 9:30 p.m. today-Mon. plus 5 p.m. Sat.-Sun., Oak Street Cinema, 309 SE. Oak St., Mpls. 612-331-3134.)

KRISTIN TILLOTSON

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