In this episode we talk about three films by director Paolo Sorrentino, about whose cinema Russ published a book in 2020: his most recent movie 'La Grazia (2025), about a fictional president of Italy at the end of his term, and two films based on real politicians in the later stage sof their career, 'Il Divo' (2008) about Andreotti who was premier on seven occasions i and 'Loro' (2018), based on the of Berlusconi's political career, each featuring Toni Servillo as lead. We talk about the recurrence of older male protagonists in Sorrentino's films along with scenes involving naked young women (the absence of the latter in 'La Grazie' was striking) and how these might be interpretted. Russ points out how the absence of Sorrentino's usual cinematographer Luca Bigazzi led to the much quieter, more traditional and less startling visual impact of 'La Grazia' ('grace' in english), with some engaging exceptions. We talk about the way 'Il Divo' foregrounds Andreotti's culpability for a series of bad events in Italy's recent history in contract to 'Loro's' more elegaic tone more sympathetic portrayal of Berlusconi. Russ also explains the various meaning of the word 'loro' in Italian. Other films and series referenced in the episode are listed below.

Participants:

Russ Kilbourn, Professor of English and Film Studies, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario (Canada) http://rjakilbourn.com/

Ken Barrett, UK based visual artist, writer, podcaster and short film producer http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk/

Russ's book: 'The Cinema of Paolo Sorrentino: Commitment to Style' (2020)

https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/The-Cinema-of-Paolo-Sorrentino-by-Russell-J-A-Kilbourn/9780231189927?srsltid=AfmBOorZwYhk0fi9bsIPW-e7_-o8A-kk09DE8CPAbTbu7csjbc8bhFE2

The films:

La Grazia (2025): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt34886821/

Il Divo (2008): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1023490/?ref_=fn_i_1

Loro (2018): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10182822/?ref_=fn_i_1

The Aldo Moro kidnapping on film: Exterior night: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12822708/?ref_=fn_i_1

Nuongiorno notte: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0377569/

Theme music: Tarantella composed by Stephen Brown.

Artwork by KB

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