Il divo
  • Studio: MPI
  • Release Date: Apr 24, 2009
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Metascore
81 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 17 Critics What's this?

User Score
6.8 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 23 Ratings

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0 out of 10
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  • Summary: In Rome, at dawn, when everyone is sleeping, one man is awake. That man is Giulio Andreotti. He's awake because he has to work, write books, move in fashionable circles and, last but not least, pray. Calm, crafty and inscrutable, Andreotti is synonym of power in Italy for over four decades. At the beginning of the Nineties, this impassive yet insinuating, ambiguous yet reassuring figure appears set to assume his seventh mandate as Prime Minister without arrogance and without humility. Approaching seventy, Andreotti is a gerontocrat who, with all the attributes of God, is afraid of no one and does not know the meaning of awe, since he is accustomed to seeing it stamped on the faces of all his interlocutors. His satisfaction is muted, impalpable. For him, satisfaction is power, with which he has a symbiotic relationship. Power the way he likes it. Unwavering and immutable, from the outset. He emerges unscathed from everything: electoral battles, terrorist massacres, slanderous accusations. He is untouched by it all, unchanging. Until the strongest counter power in Italy, the Mafia, declares war on him. Then things change. Perhaps even for the enigmatic, immortal Andreotti. But the question is: do they really change or only appear to? We can be sure of one thing: it is difficult to tarnish Andreotti, the man who knows the ways of the world better than any of us. (Music Box Films)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 17
  3. Negative: 0 out of 17
  1. Variety
    Reviewed by: Jay Weissberg
    100
    An intensely political film so wildly inventive and witty that it will become a touchstone for years to come, Il Divo is a masterpiece for maverick helmer-scribe Paolo Sorrentino.
  2. The New Yorker
    Reviewed by: Anthony Lane
    80
    Consume with great caution, and with joy.
  3. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Ella Taylor
    80
    Il Divo plays like an elegantly ritualized black comedy.
  4. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Stephen Holden
    80
    As operatic cinema, it ranks alongside the best of Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola.

See all 17 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 6
  3. Negative: 2 out of 6
  1. KentP
    10
    Great fun. Smashing editing, scoring and cinematography and an incredible performance from Servillo.
  2. JoshB
    7
    The filmmaking is really very good, but it can be confusing and hard to follow sometimes if you're not familiar with Italian political history (which, no offense, you probably aren't).… Expand
  3. TwinklesM.
    2
    Sorrentino's glossy style seems totally inappropriate for such a purely political story, giving us endless zooms and stale Scorsese montages in place of character or insight or plot. After an hour of gazing at Toni Servillo's totally inexpressive face ; an endless stream of cryptic, gnomic remarks and a continuous stream of faceless bureacrats, maintaining interest in the 'story' becomes nigh impossible. Disappointing.… Expand
  4. johns
    1
    Unbelievably boring movie. i like artistic foreign films, i even like political dramas but this was a complete waist of time. there are literally 3 dozen obscure characters that one must follow and none of them are the least bit interesting. do yourself a favor and skip it.… Expand

See all 6 User Reviews

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