Overview

President of Italy Mariano De Santis, a staunch Catholic and experienced jurist, begins his white semester and is conflicted about whether he should sign into law a bill legalizing euthanasia, and at the same time has to consider the pardon petitions of two individuals who murdered their partners before the end of his term.

Director

Paolo Sorrentino

Producers

Paolo Sorrentino, Annamaria Morelli, Priscilla Pecetti, Cristina Tacchino, Andrea Scrosati

Cast

Toni Servillo, Anna Ferzetti, Orlando Cinque, Massimo Venturiello, Milvia Marigliano

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"Who do our days belong to?"  This is the recurring question which lingers throughout in the new film by director Paolo Sorrentino.

After his letter of love to Naples - Partenope- Paolo Sorrentino returns to a very familiar theme of his career: politics! But this time it is not a visionary biopic like il Divo or Loro which were about PM Giulio Andreotti or Silvio Berlusconi.

In this film he tells the story of a fictitious President of the Republic Mariano De Santis, arespected jurist and devout christian who has based his presidency on a firm and ethical  interpretation  of the law. At the end of his mandate, President De Santis must decide to grant  La Grazia  of the title (a pardon in this case) to two people who have murdered their spouses but he also must decide to approve or repeal a law on Euthanasia, a subject strongly debated in Italy and mostly hindered by parties or by politicians close to the Vatican. Private events from his past and personal beliefs will intertwine while President De Santis decides which kind of ending he will give to his Presidency.

Some critics wanted to see the current President Sergio Mattarella as the inspiration for

Mariano De Santis but I think that there are also echoes of another strong Christian Democrat  Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, President of the Republic between 1992 and 1999.

It is interesting to point out that these men became Presidents after the death of their wives and to support the President with his agenda and official visits. a new institutional figure appeared : the First Daughter.  In the film Anna Ferzetti as the strong Doortea pays tribute to Marianna Scalfaro and to Laura Mattarella.

The film La Grazia is a meditation on the End: the end of a professional career as well as the end of life.  In Italian the word grazia has multiple meanings: Pardon in this context,  but also grace and mercy. These meanings linger throughout the movie referring to the spiritual grace to which the devout President always appeals, but also referring to more compassionate and thoughtful times in politics which he has always advocated as opposed to the style of an unnamed and dangerous politician.

It is a meditation on the complexity of politics against easy but unpredictable solutions.

There is an interesting comment by the President about the slowness of Burocracy, hated by many, but essential to prevent any impulsive decisions.

We invite you to watch La Grazia with a meditative eye and an open mind, to glide along the silent landscape, to listen to the multi-layered quotes and to enjoy the superb performance of Toni Servillo who was rewarded  with the Volpi Cup for best actor at the Venice film Festival.

And at the end of the film, ask yourself: "Who do our days belong to".

Lorenzo Tamburini