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In former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, hes somehow found a subject that combines all of those.
The temperature drops, and the sheep dies.
Its cold because the AC is too cold, and the sheep dies.
I cannot say that I was able to uncover it by making this movie.
I made anattemptto uncover it.
I know a lot about the situation politically because I was there when it happened.
I was more interested in the man himself.
Even in the intimate moments with his family.
I decided even interviewing people who knew him well would not be meaningful.
So I started to imagine him as the author of a movie.
And I had to come up with my own idea of him.
The reasons are difficult to identity.
Berlusconi at that time, while dangerous, was something of a novelty.
In Italy, this sort of vitality hadnt been seen before not since the end of WWII.
It was a crazy period of time when the rules didnt apply anymore.
And it was a time of vulgarity but also sensuality.
I was like a glutton in a pastry shop.
Your imagery is very stylized, very extreme.
Are there times when you think,Ive gone too far.
I should pull back?
How far is too far for Paolo Sorrentino?This is something that I do constantly.
I want to be realistic, but only in the sense that I want to make a comparison.
But with cinema, its not up to us to be real.
People criticize me and say that I look for vulgarity, but sometimes, the imagery is vulgar.
A few days agoour minister of the interior was partying on a beach.
But in terms of imagery, this movie was built around so many different tracks.
The world that it depictsismainly vulgar, but vulgarity has for me a certain fascination it can become sensual.
I want to create something special that you’ve got the option to only see in the cinema.
Some years ago, you made another very critical film about a political leader, withIl Divoand Giulio Andreotti.
At the time, you actually told me that you showed the film to Andreotti.
But I didnt show him the movie, and I dont know if hes seen the movie.
I wanted to see how he moved, how he looked, his gestures.
I didnt think that talking to him would be useful.
Anyone who meets with you when youre making a movie about them, they basically put on an act.
He had this deep need to be at center stage.
He still talked about all these achievements.
And I also sensed a little bit of provincialism.
He needed to show off.
Were you surprised that he agreed to meet with you?Not too much.
I thought that it was quite normal because he always wants to make an enemy into a friend.
He also wanted to check that the movie wouldnt be negative.
So he didnt want to attack me.
He wanted to conquer me.
When it became wipe the film would not be a positive portrayal, did you sense any pressure?
He is still a powerful man.I cant say that I felt any pressure.
I imagine that he probably worried about how it might reflect on him if he tried to pressure me.
At the time I was making the movie, Mr. Berlusconi was not in power.
He was in a sort of retirement.
But no, I did not receive any kind of pressure whatsoever, from him or anybody around him.
I was surprised, at the same time, that the film isnt a screed against Berlusconi.
You always take a stab at make a movie to take a stab at understand a complex man.
I cant say that the movie hascompassion, but ratherunderstandingtoward the man at the center of it.
I was trying to understand the human side of Berlusconi, the one that he was trying to hide.
Because he wanted to portray himself as almost superhuman the best at achieving this or that thing.
The first part shows the boundless wish of meeting Berlusconi, and then finally Berlusconi arrives.
But I needed to create this sense of curiosity.
All I can say is that this is an honest movie.
It was not made to advocate a position.
It was made to depict a politician and a human being.
So it was interesting to observe a man who thinks he is making decisions for the common good.
But really I cannot forecast how the film will be received in the United States.
You yourself have had quite a bit of success over the past few years.
Youve won an Oscar, youve had an HBO hit withThe Young Pope.
How has your life changed?Luckily, very little has changed in my life.
And this happened thanks to my very wise wife.
