Paolo Sorrentino’s 2008 film is a nervy, stylized bio-pic of Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti. Foreknowledge of contemporary Italian politics is admittedly useful for fully appreciating Il Divo, but this is an arena where the broad strokes are universally familiar — corruption, gamesmanship, self-delusion — and Sorrentino’s directorial flair is frequently arresting. Also, Toni Servillo turns in a fascinating performance — deceptively taciturn — as the untouchable Andreotti. In Italian, with subtitles. Starts Fri., Aug. 21. Harris

This article appears in Aug 20-26, 2009.

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