tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149411832127844385.post7178252508019661043..comments2024-03-22T14:34:39.101-04:00Comments on MONDO 70: A Wild World of Cinema: IL DIVO (2008)Samuel Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00934870299522899944noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149411832127844385.post-34891724641561605242012-07-16T17:13:47.931-04:002012-07-16T17:13:47.931-04:00Andreotti became the main man of Democrazia Cristi...Andreotti became the main man of Democrazia Cristiana more or less during Moro's kidnapping affair, and, once upon a time, as a young minister of entertainment and arts, he was considered "the beautiful one" in this party, wich reigned on Italy from just after WWII up to 1992, when "Mani Pulite" inquiry destroied it...<br />This man's main characteristic, for us Italians, was just the ambiguous, indecipherable and impenetrable mask he was always wearing: the successions of names Servillo's voice tells at the beginning, when added to the wife's delusional little speach at the kitchen table later, give the frame of the empty picture Andreotti has made of himself.<br />BTW, the conclusion of the main trial on Andreotti concluded by sanctioning he was involved with Mafia up to 1981 (acquitted by exceeding the prescription time), and gave an "insufficient evidence" justification not to convict him for the subsequent years (thanks to some ad-hoc laws approved, during the very long trial, by Italian Parliament, with which the concept of cotinuative crime was abolished from Italian Penal Code, making proves for the later years indeed "not sufficient").Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149411832127844385.post-40389593234756116592009-11-11T19:08:55.181-05:002009-11-11T19:08:55.181-05:00I reviewed Gomorra when it hit the local art house...I reviewed <i><a href="http://mondo70.blogspot.com/2009/04/on-big-screen-gomorra-2008.html" rel="nofollow">Gomorra</a></i> when it hit the local art house back in April. It worked for me as an accumulation of detail that was probably meant to be overwhelming but could just as easily strike some viewers as merely fatiguing. One reservation I had about it at the time was that it seemed a little like just another film in a global crime genre, and I'll take Dave's word for it that the movie didn't do justice to the book. As for comparing it to <i>Il Divo</i>, let's allow that accessibility and quality are two different things. <i>Gomorra</i> is more accessible to global audiences almost by default, while <i>Divo</i> really seems to require special knowledge to be appreciated fully. Sorrentino may have tried to answer questions about Andreotti, but his film left me asking them -- which isn't necessarily a bad thing. The general viewer may walk away with some idea about the banality of power, if not evil, but the Italiam viewer probably gets a good deal more from it. I wonder which of the two films Italians prefer.Samuel Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00934870299522899944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149411832127844385.post-7821819076233746542009-11-11T17:36:14.459-05:002009-11-11T17:36:14.459-05:00Ah, I just read now that Dave didn't care for ...Ah, I just read now that Dave didn't care for GOMORRAH either.Sam Julianonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149411832127844385.post-51285152309391078382009-11-11T17:33:57.322-05:002009-11-11T17:33:57.322-05:00"In a way, comparing Il Divo with Scorsese..."In a way, comparing Il Divo with Scorsese's work is fair. Sorrentino's film is like Goodfellas and Casino, not in its violence, but in its portrayal of a corrupt empire as a system that worked for those who worked it. But Il Divo lacks the tragic power of those American films because it doesn't show the system crumbling from within, but buckling under assault from without, from an outraged populace whose story isn't told here. The Italian film is more like Scorsese's THE AVIATOR......"<br /><br />Brilliant propositions here Samuel. I do agree, though to be honest I much preferred IL DIVO (which I saw in a Manhattan movie theatre earlier this year and gave a 4/5 star rating to) to GOMORRAH, which was overlong, convoluted, tedious and redundant, which the film about Andreotti is more focused, if enigmatic. But the latter quality is inherent in this fascinating, cryptic character who was played here to the hilt by Tony Servillo, who seemingly is always photographed by Sorentino looking at the camera in profile). The Aldo Moro affair was well-presented in a dramatic sense, but Sorrentino succeeds mostly in presnting a man who has had little real happiness in his life, a man simultaneously sad and fearsome, yet cunning and with an uncanny ability to wriggle his way out of anything. He isn't reprehensible, as he believes what he is doing, while still willing to accept the consequences of his deeds. <br /><br />I'l have to secure the DVD soon enough.Sam Julianonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149411832127844385.post-69292461285760675992009-11-11T11:24:27.541-05:002009-11-11T11:24:27.541-05:00Very interesting indeed... and this one is availab...Very interesting indeed... and this one is available to watching instantly on Netflix, and since I am now able to stream these through my PS3, I'll try and check it out. As I've mentioned many times on my blog, I have an obsessive fascination with organized crime and have recently been reading lot of on the 80s-90s in Sicily and Italy. The evidence ties between Andreotti and the Corleonesi clan seems very strong, so it is an incredibly fascinating topic.<br /><br />I'd love to see you review Gomorrah at some point (unless you have already and I missed, which is possible). Roberto Saviano's book is spectacular and is held up as THE volume on the Camorra. But I was disappointed by the film, honestly. It felt much too episodic and disconnected for me.Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07134196370913749544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149411832127844385.post-71617105701032034342009-11-10T15:10:43.579-05:002009-11-10T15:10:43.579-05:00Interesting, Samuel. I have yet to see Gammorah, ...Interesting, Samuel. I have yet to see <i>Gammorah</i>, but I plan to rectify that soon. I'm interested in this one, too, but I have to be honest...when I saw the title of the movie I thought you were reviewing a movie about the band that the dude from American Idol put together. Anyway...great review. My interest is piqued!Kevin J. Olsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17275402809912728035noreply@blogger.com