Well made, but hard to follow

A political thriller that's shot like a music video, with oodles of style. But the plot and web of characters is far, far too complicated for someone who doesn't already know the ins and outs of Italian politics in the 90s.

Superb cinematography where almost every shot is beautifully balanced. I also loved how parts of the movie is little dialogue and mostly facial expressions and other parts where you are bombarded with the facts.

I admit that keeping track of the events and characters of Il Divo is a daunting prospect even for someone familiar with the major crises of post-war Italian history. But the sheer swell of shady rumours and contradictions surrounding 7-time Italian premier and 26-time acquittee Giulio Andreotti is made hugely compelling by Sorrentino's direction and Servillo's masterful acting; megalomaniacal but insecure, powerful but pathetic, composed but haunted, a disgraced failure but an eternal survivor.

I loved this film. It was made with bad intentions, in the best tradition of Italian satire. It's very funny, highly entertaining, brilliantly acted and when it comes to films about national political cultures, this is a masterpiece.

It reminded me of the Bronson, another biopic released around the same time. They both lean towards the style rather than substance, and they both have great lead actors. Of course, Il Divo comes out as a clear winner, because it isn't pretentious and doesn't feel that pointless. It's just that it doesn't make much sense without prior knowledge about Italian political life.

The best part - it's in Italian, probably the funniest language in the world.

It's pretty, I liked the soundtrack but I had no frikkin clue what was happening...

28. ist. film fest. & bu konu icin oldukca farkli bir anlatim tarzi. hos. *sarhosken izledm.

A very stylistic political biopic of a remarkably peculiar person. If you don't know much about Italian politics, it can take awhile to grasp all that's happening. Mix that with occasional unclear passages of time, and things can get a little muddled through the end of the second act, but the finale puts it all in focus. (And the denouement is particularly telling of the state of Italian politics of the times depicted.) Wonderful acting and characters as well.