Keswick Film Club - La Grazia

Synopsis

The latest from the great Italian director Paolo Sorrentino once again has Toni Servillo in the starring role, this time as Mariano De Santis, an imaginary Italian president in the last months of his office. It is sad to say that seeing a film about a public official who is honest, with integrity and morals is unusual; "The absence of corruption, scandal, self-dealing and cronyism makes this a revitalizing break from real-world concerns, without in any way veering into sappy idealism. The reflections on power, influence and the weight of the past are unquestionably relevant" - David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter.

A man whose past decisiveness had him known as 'reinforced concrete', he is himself surprised to find he faces several moral choices - should he sign a bill to allow euthanasia and should he pardon two murderers, one who has killed his wife already dying from Alzheimer's, one who has killed her violent husband. What does he want his legacy to be? "'Who owns our days?' is a constant refrain in the film. Mariano finds himself trying to figure out what he'll do once he leaves office.He'll supposedly finally be free, but what use is freedom at his age?" - Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine.

Sorrentino started out making his name with subtle films about people struggling with their lives, before turning to the big epics like 'The Great Beauty'. The latest is a surprise then - "Its reflectiveness and restraint feel like a return to those delicate earlier works, to the Sorrentino of yore" - Bilge Ebiri again.

Our programmes aim at having great foreign films as a staple part of the mix; this could be one of those greats.