Il Divo

2008, 114 minutes, Italy


I have a confession to make. Please no one judge me for this. I cannot stand The Godfather. I have tried about 5 times to like it but I can never properly get into. So the thought of watching a similar Italian Mafia based film, filled me slightly with dread. Why bother watching it, you may ask? Well BBC Four have this World Cinema series on a Sunday night and I had heard good reviews so I thought I would give it ago.

To draw a comparison between Il Divo and The Godfather is a bit simplistic just because they both feature Mafia type characters. Il Divo tells the story of real life Italian politician Giulio Andreotti and the many scandals that he is associated with, ranging from his rise in the Christian Democrat Party to his links with the Mafia.

Did I like it? In a number of ways yes. First it was beautifully shot. Great camera work which gave it a modern feeling. I just loved how the camera would stop on a hand with an ant crawling up it or the skate board that turned into the car bomb from the Red Brigade. It was further complemented by an amazing soundtrack which gave a massive modern contrast to the story of ageing Italian politicians.

Second, I absolutely loved how Giulio was portrayed by Toni Servillo. Many of his lines expressed his bitter irony he supposedly displayed. They were sharp, funny and witting and fitted really well with the modern pace of the film.

The one let down, and I have noticed I have been negative in my reviews so far, is the film expects you to know Italian politics from that era. Or, to put it another way, I got lost trying to work out what was going on because I know very little about post-war Italian politics. I therefore think I should really watch this again now I have a grasp what happens. So maybe my review is premature?

3.5/5 - Probably would be marked higher after a second watch

Time Shift - Dear Censor

BBC Four, 29 September 2011


I was expecting my next discs but they have yet to have arrived so I have decided to review a documentary that is on BBC Four tonight.

Time Shift - Dear Censor is an excellent documentary on the correspondence between the BBFC and film directors. It demonstrates how society's attitudes change and how the film censors have to cope with the responsibility of determining what the boundaries in taste and decency are.

Rebel Without a Cause, one of my favourite films, was one of the first to feature because they felt the parenting skills of James Dean were poor and could negatively influence society. This seems ludicrous in today's films but clearly an issue of the time.

I was surprised there was no real mention of censoring homosexuality (the Celluloid Closet is a better resource for this). Women in Love was the nearest but was more focused on the first male full frontal nudity.

BBFC developed its role to allow potentially offensive films, such as the haunting but excellent A Clockwork Orange, to receive approval because they are a work of art. As a committed libertarian, I agree no organisation should limit films just because the majority of the population would be offended.

This principle was particularly tested with Salo or the 120 Days of Sodom, which is the most disturbing film I have ever seen. But the correspondence with Pier Paolo Pasolini made the excellent point that it is a film to 'turn off' abuse rather than 'turn on'.

I was very interested in more recent films, such as Shortbus, which have pushed the boundaries again. However, we are not allowed to see any correspondence from the last 20 years so I hope the BBC will do this again to uncover the concerns of more modern classics.

I really enjoyed this step back in time and it gives a good grounding in the history of film, how society has changed and how governments deal with controversy in art.

If you have access to BBC iPlayer, I highly recommend it.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/