Sorrentino tells with a lot of irony both satirical and grotesque but also with respect and much esteem the life of Berlusconi, or rather a period of it, probably the most difficult, speculated, polemized and known of his life both private and political and therefore public.
Divided into two parts, the second comes out a few weeks away from the premiere, a film that has already discussed long before its release, at the beginning because of its extremely delicate as interesting topic and then precisely because of this questionable, although understandable, division into two films (certainly for reasons of film duration but also and above all for economic reasons, seeing that in this way it could earn almost double) that led the film to be excluded from the official selection for the films in competition at the next Cannes Film Festival, so it was a double edged sword at the end.
As for me, after all, I appreciated this choice, even stylistic if we want, because it has made the film, naturally shorter and therefore enjoyable, but also much lighter and with a very reduced risk of boring the public as the rhythm, however, very slow and calm of the whole film.
In fact, although it is a comedy with dramatic nuances very slow, especially in the development of the plot that in this first part seems almost hinted, I have never bored or disinterested, indeed thanks to the great talent of Sorrentino with his unique way of frame things and make everything extremely exaggerated and bizarre almost to the limit of realistic but at the same time credible because it is placed in a context that is also extreme; and thanks to an elegant editing that gives the right rhythm to the film and thanks to a modern soundtrack very accurate and atmospheric, the film manages to capture, for its entire duration, the attention of the viewer who remains totally involved.
Also thanks to the extraordinary interpretations in the first place that of Toni Servillo who continues role by role to surprise with his innate talent that made him perhaps the best Italian actor of these years, also excellent Bentivoglio and to say the least surprising Scamarcio.
Unfortunately, at the end it remains the feeling of having seen an half-film that has said little of what it means and never reaches a climax because it is impossible to by a cut too sharp and strong that makes it incomplete and therefore not very rewarding, Sorrentino it would have to sweeten better, make this division less felt.
In short, a little regret at the end remains but at the same time I can not wait to watch the second and last part to see what road will take this interesting and unique project.
12 Reviews
A good film about an awful human
C_Brand24 April 2019
He might be a repugnant individual, but Berlusconi's life is also occasionally terrifying and sometimes sad. He is a dinosaur, unwilling to let go of the glamour and corruption that have become his legacy, a man pumped on viagra, desperate to cheat age and ultimately death - unwilling to accept there is a battle he cannot win. Whether it's possible to make a fascinating study of one so vacuous is moot. It's well made. Whether you care what happens to Berlusconi the 'man' is a whole other matter. But certainly this could be shown in schools around the country - as the study of a personality and life one should never aim to duplicate.
The first half worth seeing
Horst_In_Translation12 December 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Okay, I must say that I find it fairly difficult to review this one honestly as I watched the entire movie as one in about 2.5 hours and now I see there are basically two parts, two acts for this film we got here, but I will try my best. Lets start with the first half. I would say the biggest difference is that I thought the first half was better and more interesting than the second. I will go into detail later on, but lets say first of all that here we have the newest work by Italian director and writer Paolo Sorrentino, who won his country a Foreign Language Oscar not too long ago and while I liked that movie, I was not too big on it, certainly not best of the year material. But quality-wise, it is about the same as the first half we got here. I read until which point it goes and I will refer to everything that follows afterwards on the other title page. It is a bit strange I prefer this first half as I really like Sorrentino's muse Toni Servillo and it takes a really long time until he finally enters the picture because there is at least half an hour in here, probably more, early on that belongs to Scamarcio/Morra and that probably also won him the Italian Film Award. But afterwards, Sorrentino takes over and he is a force of nature the way he always is. Of course it helps also that he can go comfortably over the top with his performance and character here without hurting the film because the sleaze and rotten state of character of his character makes it all possible. There are also less references early on that he is indeed playing Berlusconi here. Oh well, he isn't really actually. There is probably hardly a single scene in this film that happened the way it is shown in here in reality. That needs to be said, but yeah the references are obvious, even if we only hear "Silvio" all the time and not "Berlusconi". Like with Sorrentino's previous work, it should not be surprising that this is a very long film, a very opulent movie from start to finish, but that's a given of course with the subject and main character depicted in here. It is not a particularly violent movie, but full of nudity and some may be offended by that. Well, there is anti-sheep violence very early on that was a bit hard to watch for me. Another thing that can be said about this first half is that despite how despicable the main character is depicted here, he also has his charm like how he shows his wife at the end when he has their song prepared for her. Overall, you can say this first half is more about the introduction to the wealthy and powerful and beautiful other than really a character study of Berlusconi or anybody else. It does not go too much into detail in terms of economy or political etc. but maybe that was a good thing there because like I said I liked this one more than the other. Now lets move on with the final statement that this was not picked as Italy's Oscar submission this year. I don't know if the fact that it is a duology is a problem or the nudity or that Americans just don#t care about Berlusconi, but I found Dogman infinitely better, so a wise choice by the Italian Film Board, still this one here is not a bad watch by any means and I think you can give this first half a go and then decide for yourself halfway into the film if it is good enough for you to continue. But you should not expect an improvement in the second 100 minutes. That much is safe.
Politics is Entertainment
Blue-Grotto9 November 2018
Politics is entertainment now. Just one long performance. Witness Silvio Berlusconi who foreshadows the rise of Trump (the two are remarkably similar). Loro satirizes Berlusconi as he starts to lose his grip on power about ten years ago. Under Berlusconi the route to influence and authority is not through enlightenment or better ways of doing business, but trafficking young women, reality shows, lavish parties, yachts and cocaine.
Loro doesn't just take a dim view of Berlusconi, it provides a realistic portrayal of the man. We see the charming salesman who understands human nature and capitalizes on this knowledge. Truth is in tone of voice. "I don't know," says Berlusconi "I understand." Toni Servillo's brilliant performance as Berlusconi heightens this effect. The average Italian, Berlusconi maintains, has the intelligence of second grader. Altruism is the best way to be selfish, for in this way he appears to be good. The ultimate judgement is left to Berlusconi's wife Veronica. "You had the opportunity to help Italy and its people," she says "but you helped yourself instead."
Besides Veronica, there are intriguing portraits of other characters in Berlusconi's orbit. One of them is a very successful, intelligent and beguiling escort. "Girls like me," she says "are stupid when we dream."
Loro provides a fascinating, raw, imaginative and frightening look into the realities of modern politics from the uniquely in-your-face Italian vantage point. It is as wacky as it is cerebral. The film is fast paced and jarring in a good way. Seat shaking base music, rapid dialogue, incredible island villas, stylish clothes, impressive machinery and eye-popping nudity kept me on the edge of my seat. Loro is disjointed at times because there is so much going on, but the general effect is pleasing. The ending of the film is totally unique and perfect for the subject matter; what is important hopefully survives the disaster of modern politics. Knowledge and interest in Italian politics is recommended. Seen at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival.
Loro doesn't just take a dim view of Berlusconi, it provides a realistic portrayal of the man. We see the charming salesman who understands human nature and capitalizes on this knowledge. Truth is in tone of voice. "I don't know," says Berlusconi "I understand." Toni Servillo's brilliant performance as Berlusconi heightens this effect. The average Italian, Berlusconi maintains, has the intelligence of second grader. Altruism is the best way to be selfish, for in this way he appears to be good. The ultimate judgement is left to Berlusconi's wife Veronica. "You had the opportunity to help Italy and its people," she says "but you helped yourself instead."
Besides Veronica, there are intriguing portraits of other characters in Berlusconi's orbit. One of them is a very successful, intelligent and beguiling escort. "Girls like me," she says "are stupid when we dream."
Loro provides a fascinating, raw, imaginative and frightening look into the realities of modern politics from the uniquely in-your-face Italian vantage point. It is as wacky as it is cerebral. The film is fast paced and jarring in a good way. Seat shaking base music, rapid dialogue, incredible island villas, stylish clothes, impressive machinery and eye-popping nudity kept me on the edge of my seat. Loro is disjointed at times because there is so much going on, but the general effect is pleasing. The ending of the film is totally unique and perfect for the subject matter; what is important hopefully survives the disaster of modern politics. Knowledge and interest in Italian politics is recommended. Seen at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival.
Remarkable movie for adults
gamma-3822927 January 2019
This film shows the good and bad sides of the controversial Italian ex prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, and does it in a brilliant way.
The mediterranean sunshine, the luxury, the ladies, are the real setting of a real story well worth watching.
A WASTED OPPORTUNITY TO TELL A GREAT STORY
mantas_narkevicius5 March 2019
SEEN THIS TWO-PARTER AS ONE MOVIE (AS WAS INTENDED FOR INTERNATIONAL RELEASE, I THINK)
This movie establishes a great, great premise. It's about a guy who wants to be recognized by the great Silvio Berlusconi so bad that he would probably be willing to suck some if he had to. He is not the most sympathetic person in the world and has questionable morals, but in the end he is probably only at fault because his mind and principles are set on the wrong goal. But it's not easy, because Berlusconi is an enigma, a man that is hard to reach. This larger than life character of Berlusconi is then slowly established from little word of mouth stories here and there that different characters share in conversations.
Well, after the first 45 minutes the protagonist (?) of the story completely disappears from the movie never to be seen again. And the rest of the film then follows Silvio Berlusconi who just sits at home and bickers with his wife. He's just some old guy. Then the movie ends.
There is also some sort of symbolism with a Jesus on the cross statue at the very end? So does this mean there is some religious meaning behind all this? Who knows.
Besides being mostly boring, the movie also doesn't provide much knowledge or character about the real life Silvio Berlusconi. So really, for me the movie fails both on the entertainment level as far as a good story goes, and then also on educational level.
On the bright side - the talent involved in the making shows.
I'd say give it a pass.
This movie establishes a great, great premise. It's about a guy who wants to be recognized by the great Silvio Berlusconi so bad that he would probably be willing to suck some if he had to. He is not the most sympathetic person in the world and has questionable morals, but in the end he is probably only at fault because his mind and principles are set on the wrong goal. But it's not easy, because Berlusconi is an enigma, a man that is hard to reach. This larger than life character of Berlusconi is then slowly established from little word of mouth stories here and there that different characters share in conversations.
Well, after the first 45 minutes the protagonist (?) of the story completely disappears from the movie never to be seen again. And the rest of the film then follows Silvio Berlusconi who just sits at home and bickers with his wife. He's just some old guy. Then the movie ends.
There is also some sort of symbolism with a Jesus on the cross statue at the very end? So does this mean there is some religious meaning behind all this? Who knows.
Besides being mostly boring, the movie also doesn't provide much knowledge or character about the real life Silvio Berlusconi. So really, for me the movie fails both on the entertainment level as far as a good story goes, and then also on educational level.
On the bright side - the talent involved in the making shows.
I'd say give it a pass.
really wanted to like this one...
tymon_tm11 May 2019
...but it's too long, too dull, and not really engaging in any way. even by euro standards, this is just inedible. perhaps a shortened version, that was supposed to be released, could sort of uncover the potential this movie has
Still searching for the Dolce Vita
showmewolfgang17 January 2019
The number of hot topless partying women snorting coke skewed to the first reel. When I squirm in my seat since I have to figure out how my fiancee is enjoying the movie, I prefer even distribution of such erotic images. Defenders would say that all of the debaucheries was meant to set the tone for the life of Silvio Berlusconi, the media tycoon who after serving as Italy's prime minister is the longest-serving post-war head of government. I am no expert of Italian politics but this movie did not leave me feeling like I understand the Roman modern-day political world any more than I did last week.
The only thing I loved...
mirjamsslot10 November 2018
5 stars, at least 1 star is given to the beauty in the film.
yoggwork10 July 2019
5 stars, at least 1 star is given to the beauty in the film. The clips are fragmentary, the problem is superficial, and the contrast between the two is very large. It is impossible to connect the ugly of the upper class that we want to say. The feeling for the audience is that Dongyi Shantou has a stick, especially the second half. The most responsive to the level of the film is the bridge of the air-conditioned frozen sheep that started the cloud cover.
Wrong duration
endeua30 June 2021
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