It is a testament to this film that it leaves enough of the voice and actions of its protagonist, that you can see another way of looking at the man, underneath this film's message. At the level of craft, this film is also quite strong with cinematography and especially, soundtrack which stand out, and could be used as an example in film class.
Ultimately however, this film fails in that it is a biopic, but one that places us almost in the shoes of its protagonist, without at all attempting to look at things through his own eyes.
As an example of this, when Andreotti walks about in the city normally even though there is security accompanying him, rather than riding in a motorcade, this is treated as if he is caged in misery, rather than Andreotti simply being used to the situation, and not paying much mind to the security, or for that matter, considering that perhaps he enjoys the power of an armed entourage.
Now here I want to be very careful, because it is perfectly possible that Andreotti did regard the security as a burden, but this very same approach is taken with every other distinctive characteristic of Andreotti's, including his own personality.
Andreotti was famously straight faced and calm in his demeanor, but famous for his clever and witty remarks. Instead of treating him as interacting with others as a "straight man" like Oliver Hardy or Bob Newhart, Andreotti is portrayed as being entirely expressionless, trapped inside a mask.
Indeed the actor playing Andreotti plays the man as being ENTIRELY expressionless, and adds to the artificial effect by hunching and walking in a spastic way. This effect is impressive in its consistency, but entirely fails to seem natural, even to the point of being the believable gait and demeanor of an injured or disabled person.
This same approach, where the emotions and priorities of a person decidedly not the protagonist are projected upon him, utterly shapes what is shown in political terms as well. Andreotti was a devoted retail politician, who loved to meet with constituents and solve their problems or provide help. The film is good enough to show us a trace of this, with Andreotti doing constituent service every weekend, but overall, the focus is on good or evil actions as an almost abstract exercise of power. Since the abstract use of power was not at all what Andreotti was focused on, or motivated by, the content doesn't connect.
Whether one knows Italian politics or not is not a key to deciphering the film; rather one needs to understand Italian politics ahead of time because what is being shown to us has very little cause and effect relationship.
Altogether, there is a great deal of talent on display, but the effort seems to be wasted. Many people saw Andreotti as a sort of enigma, and this film seems to have attempted to preserve that impression to leave a "realistic" image of Andreotti based on only superficial impersonation.
Ultimately however, this film fails in that it is a biopic, but one that places us almost in the shoes of its protagonist, without at all attempting to look at things through his own eyes.
As an example of this, when Andreotti walks about in the city normally even though there is security accompanying him, rather than riding in a motorcade, this is treated as if he is caged in misery, rather than Andreotti simply being used to the situation, and not paying much mind to the security, or for that matter, considering that perhaps he enjoys the power of an armed entourage.
Now here I want to be very careful, because it is perfectly possible that Andreotti did regard the security as a burden, but this very same approach is taken with every other distinctive characteristic of Andreotti's, including his own personality.
Andreotti was famously straight faced and calm in his demeanor, but famous for his clever and witty remarks. Instead of treating him as interacting with others as a "straight man" like Oliver Hardy or Bob Newhart, Andreotti is portrayed as being entirely expressionless, trapped inside a mask.
Indeed the actor playing Andreotti plays the man as being ENTIRELY expressionless, and adds to the artificial effect by hunching and walking in a spastic way. This effect is impressive in its consistency, but entirely fails to seem natural, even to the point of being the believable gait and demeanor of an injured or disabled person.
This same approach, where the emotions and priorities of a person decidedly not the protagonist are projected upon him, utterly shapes what is shown in political terms as well. Andreotti was a devoted retail politician, who loved to meet with constituents and solve their problems or provide help. The film is good enough to show us a trace of this, with Andreotti doing constituent service every weekend, but overall, the focus is on good or evil actions as an almost abstract exercise of power. Since the abstract use of power was not at all what Andreotti was focused on, or motivated by, the content doesn't connect.
Whether one knows Italian politics or not is not a key to deciphering the film; rather one needs to understand Italian politics ahead of time because what is being shown to us has very little cause and effect relationship.
Altogether, there is a great deal of talent on display, but the effort seems to be wasted. Many people saw Andreotti as a sort of enigma, and this film seems to have attempted to preserve that impression to leave a "realistic" image of Andreotti based on only superficial impersonation.