Paolo Sorrentino

CHICAGO – When a film tries to be philosophical, it easily can devolve into heavy handedness. But the exception is the latest from writer/director Paolo Sorrentino, the richly presented “Youth.” It treads upon many definitions of the title, and lands upon all of them, because that’s life.

We love to go on and on when the Academy gets it wrong, especially in the notoriously flawed Documentary and Foreign Language categories. And so we should give them a pat on the back when they get it right. Yes, “Blue is the Warmest Color” deserved more attention but my vote still would have gone to Paolo Sorrentino’s masterful “The Great Beauty,” released today on Blu-ray and DVD from The Criterion Collection. It’s one of the best films of the last several years; a mesmerizing ode to the diversionary quality of excess. Don’t miss it.

CHICAGO – Since the totality of what I know about Italian politics could fit inside a fortune cookie, I’d normally be inclined to demand that films on the subject keep it simple by not utilizing too many characters and not bothering with a complicated plot that spans roughly fifteen years. But the slick “Il Divo” didn’t have me pleading with writer director Paolo Sorrentino to slow down so that I could catch up with its history.