‘Il Divo’

If you plan to see “Il Divo,” and you should, be prepared to hold onto your seats. This story of veteran Italian politician Giulio Andreotti, variously known as the Sphinx, the Hunchback and the Black Pope, is simultaneously exhilarating and confounding, dazzling and confusing. This is filmmaking of such verve and style that you just won’t care that you can’t follow it completely. If you don’t think a film about Italian politics could possibly interest you, Paolo Sorrentino’s virtuoso direction and an uncanny performance by Toni Servillo, one of Italy’s best actors, will change your mind.

-- Kenneth Turan