Il Divo Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.5

Il Divo Blu-ray Movie Review

“Power is a disease one has no desire to be cured of.”

Reviewed by Casey Broadwater October 20, 2009

Unless you rigorously follow the intricacies of Italian politics—and I don’t blame you if you don’t— you may not be familiar with Giulio Andreotti, but in his home country he’s a household name, a political survivor who, since he first took public office in the mid 1950s, has been ducking scandals, dodging murder charges, and denying mafia ties. As a seven-time Italian Prime Minister, he’s wormed his way into an entrenched place on the bureaucratic heel of the boot-shaped nation, and like a political planter’s wart, he refuses to go away. He’s been called “The Fox” for his cunning, “The Sphinx” for the impenetrable riddle of his public persona, “Beelzebub” and “The Black Pope” for his alleged criminal ties, and “The Hunchback,” a jab at his drawn and impish posture. But the name by which he’s best known is Divo Giulio—Divine Julius—an epithet once bestowed upon the Caesar himself. If power is a disease, then Giulio Andreotti is chronically ill and defiantly incurable, serving to this day in an appointed position as Senator for Life.

Toni Servillo as Giulio Andreotti

So, how do you make a biopic about a man who has become, to many, an embodiment of government corruption and judicial oversight, a man who has ultimately come to serve as a symbol of himself? Director Paulo Sorrentino, instead of giving a broad career overview, wisely hones in on Andreotti’s scandal-ridden seventh term as prime minister and leader of the centrist Christian Democratic party. The opening shot of Andreotti—played here with saturnine, stiff-as-a- board restraint by Gomorrah’s excellent Toni Servillo—shows the politician alone in the dark with acupuncture needles sticking out of his face, looking like a blowfish cautioning us to stay away. A brilliant montage of assassinations follows, showing the deaths—in which Andreotti was and is allegedly complicit—of judge Giovanni Falcone, journalist Mino Pecorelli, and banker Roberto Calvi. However, it’s former Prime Minister and party rival Aldo Moro that will literally haunt Andreotti throughout the film. After Moro was kidnapped by the radical Red Brigade, Andreotti refused to intervene and fifty-five days later, Moro’s body was found riddled with bullet holes.

The film is initially confusing, and non-Italian audiences will have trouble keeping up with the ceaseless cavalcade of names and titles that marches throughout Il Divo. We’re rapidly introduced to the “Andreotti Faction” of the Christian Democrats, which includes politicians with nicknames like “The Lemon” and “The Shark,” but if you’ll permit me one bit of advice about watching the film, it’s to not get too hung up on trying to piece together who’s who and what’s what. Sorrentino makes little attempt to construct a linear and coherent narrative—this isn’t exactly a political thriller—deciding instead to hopscotch through key moments in Andreotti’s career, including the investigations into his mafia connections, a failed bid at presidency, and the suicides that follow the party-wide “Tangentopoli” scandal. The film’s ultimate cohesiveness derives not from its meandering plot but from the atmosphere of secrecy and uncertainty that Sorrentino sustains. As a stylist, Sorrentino is drawn to powerful images, frequently using symmetry in his careful compositions and then letting the camera move with operatic fluidity through the lush interiors of Italy’s governmental chambers. One scene finds the camera at head-level, passing through a raucous dance party and finally settling on Andreotti, who sits nearly motionless on a couch, greeting a queue of politicians and constituents but appearing utterly absent from the surrounding revelry. Another shows him hunched at his seat while a fight breaks out around him in parliament. He’s a rock in the middle of a storm, a man apart.

Of course, the film’s success rests most heavily on Toni Servillo, who channels the infamous politician in a performance that weds the public’s almost caricatured, cartoonish perception of Andreotti with the reality of his stoic and darkly witty personality. With his pointed ears and his hands folded nervously in front of him, Servillo seems at times like a cross between Mr. Magoo and Nosferatu, a devilishly conspiratorial visage that moves through rooms with a tight, constipated walk and eyes that see everything yet cannot be read.

Sorrentino’s script does envision a real live human being behind the indefatigable reticence of Andreotti’s near-mythic public face, but aside from fleeting glimpses at emotion, the director chooses to let the politician remain an enigma. And that’s precisely the point. Andreotti is such a charismatic figure precisely because he’s so damnably taciturn and mysterious. Early in the film, Andreotti makes a quip of his political philosophy. “We learn from the Gospel,” he says, “that when they asked Jesus what the truth was, he did not reply.” Sorrentino portrays Andreotti as unknowable and impenetrable, making Il Divo less a study of power and corruption than a sad examination of self-imposed loneliness. It would have been too obvious for Sorrentino to use Simon and Garfunkle’s “I Am A Rock,” but the song’s message suits Andreotti, who has walled himself within a fortress of solitude in order to guard himself against political attacks and— we can presume—the vulnerability that comes with emotional honesty. The film’s most piercing moment comes when Andreotti’s long-suffering wife Livia (Anna Bonaiuto) tells him that she knows who he is deep down in his heart of hearts. After all, she says, you can’t live with a person for a lifetime and not know them. Later, as they sit watching an Italian singer croon a love ballad on TV, Livia turns to her husband and we witness her painful, devastated realization that she doesn’t know Andreotti at all. And neither can we. The point of a biopic is usually to parse and unravel the private side of an otherwise public personality, but Paulo Sorrentino proves that mystery can be just as compelling.

Il Divo Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

If Il Divo's 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer looks somewhat dim, it's because director of photography Luca Bigazzi wanted it that way, calling the darkness a "reflection of an unbearable political and social climate." You can expect, then, to find shadow detail routinely crushed by inky blacks. While this may be a transfer defect in other films, it's entirely intentional here and the harsh chiaroscuro shadows aptly mirror Andreotti's shady and mysterious dealings. Likewise, the color palette shifts to accommodate tonal swings in the film's mood. Interiors are dark and rich, with somber browns and beiges, but Bigazzi isn't afraid to use icy blues when confronting the emotional coldness with which Andreotti treats the kidnapped Aldo Moro. And occasionally a vivid element is introduced within the film's otherwise muted scheme, like the bright red of a cardinal's cloak or roses in a cemetery. Skin tones throughout are natural and warm. Despite a thin but readily apparent patina of grain, the transfer is quite sharp, impressively resolving background detail and showing off every wrinkle, pore, and texture on Andreotti's face. This is also a testament to the excellent make-up work, which holds up remarkably well in high definition. With no apparent technical issues, Il Divo likely looks exactly as it was intended.

Il Divo Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

While audiophiles may be put off by this disc's lack of a lossless track, the film's Italian Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is acceptable and even occasionally impressive. It's clear that a lot of thought went into the film's sound design, which uses some clever cutting and several abrupt musical changes to alter the piece's feeling without becoming trite or manipulative. Director Paulo Sorrentino foregoes a traditional score for an effective mix of pop and classical elements, including Beth Orton's "Conceived," Trio's "Da, da, da," and several reworked orchestral pieces from composer Teho Teardo. The music is full and articulate, with a pleasing spread throughout the channels. Frequent use is made of mood-establishing ambience, from the unsettling drone that harkens the arrival of "The Andreotti Faction" to heavy rain, thunderclaps, and crickets singing in the rear speakers. There are a few directional, motion-tracking effects that seem somewhat stocky and don't exactly match the camera's movements, but it's only noticeable if you're really paying attention. Dialogue is well- prioritized, sounding clear and precise most of the time, though English speaking audiences will be glued to the yellow subtitles that appear both on the image and in the black matting below. I'd be interested in hearing if a lossless track could make any improvements to the film's dynamic range and clarity, but for now, Il Divo sounds great.

Il Divo Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Making of Il Divo (SD, 31:09)
This doc skips the phony-bologna back-patting so prevalent in many behind-the-scenes featurettes and dives right into the good stuff: engaging, informative interviews with all the key players, who candidly discuss the film itself and not just how wonderful all the other contributors have been (although there's a little of that too, naturally). Director Paulo Sorrentino talks about the quest for powerful, not just beautiful images, the producers track the difficulties in funding such a non-commercial film, and the director of photography Luca Bigazzi comments directly on the film's intentional darkness. An excellent documentary if you can get past the muddy video quality.

Special Effects Featurette (SD, 7:18)
Nicola Sganga of Vision Digital Effects discusses the subtle visual effects used in the film and shows us some of the intermediary animatic stages that led to the finished scenes. Director of photography Luca Bigazzi seems somewhat skeptical about the role of digital elements in the film, but he definitely gives Nicola Sganga and his team their due.

Deleted Scenes (SD, 11:56)
There are 11 deleted scenes here, most of which seem to have been cut for pacing and tonality.

Interview with Director Paulo Sorrentino (SD, 12:15)
"Andreotti is quite a good vehicle to portray our country," says Sorrentino, who delivers a frank interview here that covers the research that went into portraying Andreotti, the locations used during the film, and the initial difficulties faced when trying to pitch the idea to producers, who were somewhat hesitant to critique the once-dangerous politician.

Il Divo Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Il Divo may be confusing, especially for audiences unfamiliar with the ins and outs of Italian government, but you don't need a degree in European political history to appreciate the Oscar- worthy performance that Toni Servillo gives in this stylish and complex biopic. Despite a lossy Dolby Digital audio track, the film's A/V package is excellent, and I have no hesitations giving Il Divo a purchase-worthy recommendation.