A must-see for Toni Servillo/Italian cinema fans: Roberto Andò's VIVA LA LIBERTA

Apologies for posting this review so very tardily, as the movie in question opened this past Friday and is one of the year's best so far: VIVA LA LIBERTA, a funny, moving, sad and thoughtful look at politics today -- in Italy, of course, but really just about everywhere in the western world -- about which compromise and money, narcissism and vanity, promises and personality trump all else. The writer/director, Roberto Andò, takes a age-old tale, that of the unknown twin, and via a supremely elegant visual style, whip-smart scenario and breathtaking lead performance(s), turns it into a modern-day fable non-pareil.

Signore Andò, shown above, is known to me via ony one other film, Secret Journey (Viaggio Segreto), which I saw some years back at the FSLC's Open Roads. (My earlier review of that film for Greencine is here.) It has remained in my memory as a keeper, and now this new film of his joins it to make an even more memorable duo. While Secret Journey was gorgeous, florid, melodramatic and riveting, Viva la libertà is elegant, restrained, subtle and smooth as silk. While I love both films, if identity had been kept from me, I doubt I would ever have guessed the same man made these two movies.

This new film has an additional weapon that tends to crush all in its path. That would be the consummate actor Toni Servillo (above and below, center), who, playing the identical twins, gives us a double dose of great acting. He endows both men with such terrific and pointed details -- these both differentiate the two and entertain us immeasurably, that once the plot get into motion, we're hooked for the entire fast-paced running time.

Andò has also conspired to make this movie about politics and movie-making, and he has done it in a plausible, easy-going way that makes perfect sense plot-wise, as one of our two heroes does a disappearing act in order to visit an important ex-girlfriend (Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi, below) who is now married to a film director and is in the middle of working on a film shoot in France, on which our politician finds himself also working. This makes for some charming but pointed references to reality, creativity, imagination, politics, the workplace and more.

At its heart, the movie is dissecting Italian politics, the people's need for a hero and guide, and how truth, spoken plainly, can produce the right kind of shock and awe. So much happens in the course of the film, and yet so little changes, too. That, unfortunately, is another of the film's points.

Especially fine in the film's supporting cast is Valerio Mastandrea, above, as our politician's right-hand man, who starts the ball rolling by using the other twin, and then cannot stop  -- and maybe wouldn't want to -- the ensuing progress.

Made last year, Viva la libertà was eclipsed by The Great Beauty, also starring Servillo, which Italy submitted for, and which then won, Best Foreign Language Film. The Great Beauty was very good, but Viva la libertà is even better. Stick it on your must-see list now.

The movie, from Distrib Films and running a sleek 94 minutes, opened in New York at the Lincoln Plaza Cinema and Quad Cinema last Friday, November 7. It will hit Los Angeles (at Laemmle's Royal, Playhouse 7 and Town Center 5). In between those dates and after, the film will open throughout the USA. You can see all currently scheduled playdates, cities and theaters by clicking here, then scrolling down just a bit to click again on THEATERS, then scrolling down some more.

Best TV show ever? Adam Price's Danish series BORGEN has a good shot at that title

Not only does TrustMovies not cover television -- let alone television in Denmark -- he doesn't even watch much television, cable or otherwise. So how can he be touting a TV series that began back in 2010, in Denmark yet, and has grown more popular ever since, prompting the celebrity/writer Stephen King to hail it his favorite TV Series of 2012 and BAFTA to honor it as Best Interna-tional TV Series of the Year. How? He watched four hours of the first season and was blown away by the subject matter, plot, writing, direction and performances. He will definitely finish that first season (there are six more episodes), but as it arrived last week on DVD in a classy boxed set, he figures he should alert you about it now. (Two weeks later, he has finished that entire first season, and everything he says below still goes -- except that the series, to its credit, turns darker by the finale than it appeared at the outset.)

BORGEN's the name, and politics is the game. The series' title, I am told, is the nickname of Christiansborg, the home of the Danish parliament and the prime minister's office, and from the first we are  tossed into the world of Danish politics. Surprise: It does not seem that different from American politics -- only smaller, more humane and with definitely more left-wing clout. The brain-child of a fellow named Adam Price, shown at right, who has done a number of series for Danish TV, this program has built up more international oomph than anything else he has done.

Even the best cable/streaming stuff I have seen (which would lately include Netflix's House of Cards, which I found very fine) can't hold a candle to Borgen in terms of clever plotting, intense drama, and writing that is on-the-nose in terms of smart dialog yet able simultaneously to sweep the plot along like wildfire. The performances are also aces, especially that of Sidse Babett Knudsen (below), who plays what appears to be the leading role (so far, at least).

What makes the show particularly wonderful for an intelligent American audience is that it introduces us to Danish government, politics and media in a way that we're able to follow. Yes, you may have to occasionally backtrack a bit to make sure you understood it all, but that's a small price to pay for such grand entertainment. And Borgen is, above all, spectacularly entertaining.

It combines several plots so far (I'm sure there are more to come): the rise of a smart and decent woman politician (Ms Knudsen again, above) trying hard to balance work with her husband and kids; an ambitious, young, very pretty TV reporter (below) and her love affairs, past and present, and a hot, maybe deadly story that falls into her lap; and politicians from various parties (Denmark, as does most of Europe and Scandinavia has more than two major parties fighting for the spoils), vying for their piece of the Danish pastry.

We also learn about Greenland, over whom (I did not know this going into the show) Denmark has some kind of sovereignty. If this is beginning to sound like too much work, trust me, it is not. You will be swept up so fast by this series, you'll won't want to stop watching for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or even sleep. You'll also meet a savvy older journalist, below, who provides a lot of fun and smarts, and a bevy of PR people, secretaries, children and more.

The way in which Mr. Price has woven all this together is exemplary and seamless. Even in these first four episodes, we can see how changeable the characters surely are -- most of all perhaps the smart "spin doctor" (below) who has come full circle by the time we reach episode four. Borgen certainly demands concentration, so thank god for that "back" button on the remote.

I am forcing myself to hit the sack tonight, but I would not be at all surprised were I to rise sometime around 3 or 4am and pop a disc back in the player to watch another episode. Borgen's first season, from MHz Networks, in Danish with English subtitles, is available now in a 4-disc box set bearing a $50 suggested retail price. (Amazon has it for 5 bucks less, and Barnes & Noble for just $44.) You might also find it at some point broadcast on MHz Networks, if you live in an area the channel serves. (We don't get MHz here in NYC and environs.) Good luck, as this is a series to savor!