Il Divo

Last night I went to watch this Italian movie in the West End. It covers the career of seven-time Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti. For all those who never heard of him (lucky you), Andreotti would make Machiavelli pale in comparison. Margaret Thatcher - probably seeking to win the 'Understatement Of The Year' Award - once described him as 'a man totally devoid of any principle'.

The cinema was quite packed, mostly by English viewers and I have to feel sorry for them as they probably felt inundated by too many names, most of which are familiar only to Italians.

Andreotti -- currently sitting as a life senator -- and his Christian Democrat party virtually ruled Italy as a one-party system for 44 years, until the "Tangentopoli" (Bribesville) scandal finally put an end to this party.

Since the early 1990s, Andreotti has been implicated in a wide variety of illegal activities, including Mafia connections, but somehow (?!?!?!) has managed to be acquitted of all charges.

If you're thinking of going to watch it, I'd recommend that you quickly brush up on Italy's recent history (say, the last 20 years), or else you may lose the plot far too many times.

Apart from the movie in itself, I really liked the fact that most actors had more than a passing resemblance to the real-life characters that they impersonated, particularly Andreotti himself as well as top Mafia bloke Toto' Riina.