La Grazia

GoMovieReviews Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.2/5)

Rated: TBC

Directed by: Paolo Sorrentino

Written by: Paolo Sorrentino

Cinematographer: Daria D’Antonio

Starring: Toni Servillo, Anna Ferzetti, Milvia Marigliano, Rufin Doh Zeyenouin, Massimo Venturiello, Gué Pequeno, Alexandra Gottschlich, Linda Messerklinger, Orlando Cinque, Roberto ibetti, Giuseppe Gaiani, Vasco Mirandola.

Viewed in Italian with English subtitles.

Who owns our days?

The President of the Italian Republic, Mariano De Santis (Toni Servillo) is nearing his end of term.

He looks powerful, smoking a cigarette.  He looks through the camera lens, beyond the audience watching.  His power abates as he reminisces.  He misses his late wife, Aurora.

La Grazie is a cinematic film about the character, De Santis’ contemplation of life: his grace when in doubt; and his relationship with his daughter, Dorotea (Anna Ferzetti), who’s part of his judicial team.  She looks after him.  Makes sure he eats right.  People are seeing him differently; he’s feeling different as he contemplates his older age and retirement.

His nickname is Reinforced Concrete.  De Santis doesn’t like his nickname.  But it reflects his outward stoic expression, his compromise, always following the ritual of office.  But nearing his end of term, De Santis is getting sick of it.

The film is nuanced and perceptive; a balance of contrasting arguments in De Santis’ professional life, a weighing of whether his should sign-off a bill allowing people to choose euthanasia; and the reflection of his past and question of what person he will be in the future.

His friend the Pope (Rufin Doh Zeyenouin) questions, Is he lonely or is he weighed down by the length of his life?

De Santis listens all the while grieving his wife Aurora, trying to unravel the mystery of her.  Pushing his childhood friend, Coco (Milvia Marigliano) to reveal his wife’s secrets.

There’s: darkness and light, the old world meeting the modern, the soundtrack classical, rap and ambience.  So there’s this quiet tone but also a curiosity, and honesty in the telling with added moments of synchronicity.

The film is a thought process of an intriguing character, an intelligent gentleman pondering his meaning, finding his way back to feeling light: ‘Would you like to dream?’ he’s asked

‘Very much,’ answers De Santis.

It’s not a surprise Toni Servillo won the Best Actor Award at the 2025 Venice Film Festival for his role as the President, Mariano De Santis.

And the writing and direction by Paolo Sorrentino is outstanding, all shown with a cinematic, at times, magic realism view including images of the night sky full of stars and a figure walking through an avenue of trees on a foggy morning, ‘her feet like they don’t touch the ground’.

Sorrentino states: ‘As a young man I was profoundly struck by Kieslowski’s Decalogue. A masterpiece entirely focused on moral dilemmas; the plot of all plots, the only truly compelling narrative. More than any thriller. I don’t believe I have even remotely approached the genius of Kieslowski, nor the depth with which he tackled moral themes, but I felt compelled to try anyway, in a historical moment when ethics sometimes seems optional, elusive, opaque, or all too often invoked only for instrumental reasons. Ethics is a serious matter. It holds up the world. And Mariano De Santis is a serious-minded man.’

The insights revealed are what holds the attention while the surprise of human nature’s incongruencies evokes a smile.  There’s an intelligence but also a gentle wry humour.

I couldn’t help but like and admire the character Mariano De Santis, as he weighs his mortality, his future, his life, all told in that unique shot of a camera showing a distant look, past the shoulder of the audience, to hold firm, yet look forward.

Subtle, perceptive, elegant and insightful – a genuine pleasure to watch.