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How entertaining? ★★★☆☆
Thought provoking? ★★☆☆☆ 5 March 2014
This article is a review of VIVA LA LIBERTA.Seen as part of the Cinema Made In Italy 2014 season. (For more information, click here.)
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“A politician has no friends,” Anna Oliveri (Michela Cescon)
Actors playing twins have mixed pedigree, from the ridiculous: Jean-Claude Van Damme (DOUBLE IMPACT) to the guilty pleasure: Jackie Chan (TWIN DRAGONS) to the masterful: Nicolas Cage (ADAPTATION) to the surreal: Jesse Eisenberg (THE DOUBLE) to the wasted opportunity: Viggo Mortensen (EVERYBODY HAS A PLAN). THE GREAT BEAUTY’s brilliant Tony Servillo is called upon to use his performing prowess to make a commentary on Italian (and Western) politics.
VIVA LA LIBERTA kicks off having Enrico Oliveri (Servillo) walking purposefully to boisterous classical music, flanked by two aides, in a set that would not be out of place in Bertolucci’s THE CONFORMIST. Enrico is an Italian senator, and secretary of the leftist opposition coalition. Promise of change has not manifested and voters, looking for a credible alternative to the “dark times” the nation currently faces, feel cheated, vocalising loudly their disappointment. Feeling assailed from all sides, Enrico suddenly departs on a secret unannounced sabbatical. Leaving a cryptic note to his eminence Andrea Bottini (Valerio Mastandrea), this chief fixer scrabbles around on damage limitation. And comes across a previously unknown twin brother, Giovanni Ernani, who has recently been discharged from a mental institution. Alarm bells of incredulity would have been screaming had it not been for the mildly comedic tone. The difference in surnames is down to Giovanni wanting a pen name for his philosophical and poetic musings.
Actors playing twins have mixed pedigree, from the ridiculous: Jean-Claude Van Damme (DOUBLE IMPACT) to the guilty pleasure: Jackie Chan (TWIN DRAGONS) to the masterful: Nicolas Cage (ADAPTATION) to the surreal: Jesse Eisenberg (THE DOUBLE) to the wasted opportunity: Viggo Mortensen (EVERYBODY HAS A PLAN). THE GREAT BEAUTY’s brilliant Tony Servillo is called upon to use his performing prowess to make a commentary on Italian (and Western) politics.
VIVA LA LIBERTA kicks off having Enrico Oliveri (Servillo) walking purposefully to boisterous classical music, flanked by two aides, in a set that would not be out of place in Bertolucci’s THE CONFORMIST. Enrico is an Italian senator, and secretary of the leftist opposition coalition. Promise of change has not manifested and voters, looking for a credible alternative to the “dark times” the nation currently faces, feel cheated, vocalising loudly their disappointment. Feeling assailed from all sides, Enrico suddenly departs on a secret unannounced sabbatical. Leaving a cryptic note to his eminence Andrea Bottini (Valerio Mastandrea), this chief fixer scrabbles around on damage limitation. And comes across a previously unknown twin brother, Giovanni Ernani, who has recently been discharged from a mental institution. Alarm bells of incredulity would have been screaming had it not been for the mildly comedic tone. The difference in surnames is down to Giovanni wanting a pen name for his philosophical and poetic musings.
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“The country can’t allow absenteeism of the opposition,” the President (Massimo De Francovich).
Anyone expecting a biting governmental satire/commentary needs to look to Paolo Sorrentino-Servillo team up IL DIVO. VIVA LA LIBERTA opts for broad observations on political stagnation and voter apathy. Quoting Brecht at a public rally doesn’t make your film wise. So while Giovanni is shaking up the establishment, Enrico has escaped to Paris to hide out with ex and friend Danielle (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi), a script supervisor married to a lauded movie director. A cinema-loving Italian politico messing around in France might have had meta leanings; but no. Linking bluffing and genius, as a commonality shared by filmmaking and statesmanship, is the platitude delivered in a simplistic conversation. Enrico’s journey is a fuzzy meditation on love and rivalry. Yawn. What a squandering of opportunity.
Didn’t Ivan Reitman-Kevin Kline-Sigourney Weaver 1993 comedy DAVE already do this story? The evolution, from light entertainment to twee political wish fulfilment, is only saved by an enigmatic ending questioning any lessons learnt – now if only the rest of VIVA LA LIBERTA had that intelligence.
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