‘Loro’: The movie Italy’s billionaire family won’t let anyone see
A bold caricature of Italy’s most provocative leader since Mussolini was quietly taken down from all streaming platforms, and its rights were purchased by one of the country’s richest families. An inventive, abstract portrayal of the nation’s former prime minister could be captured by none other than director Paolo Sorrentino.
The world’s favourite contemporary Italian director won his chance to craft Silvio Berlusconi’s onscreen persona in 2017: the visionary Neapolitan filmmaker had just taken home Italy’s first Academy Award for ‘Best Foreign Picture’ in 17 years, conquering audience approval in his 2015 effort The Great Beauty.
After demonstrating playful directive techniques, ominous aesthetics and scriptwriting depth, Sorrentino embroiled producers like Indigo and Pathé in a gargantuan spectacle of ambition and absurdity, painting Berlusconi’s life through fictitious events and very real scandals. From corruption to underage girls meandering in his Sardinian villa, the movie is a synecdoche of a polarised chapter in Italy’s politics.
The filmmaker’s imagination in Loro wasn’t received as warmly as his previous work, yet the movie edged Italy closer to dismantling a myth. The former prime minister had also been a media tycoon, and his strong skills in business enabled him to sharpen his public image throughout even the most turbulent of PR storms.
He owned one of Italy’s largest TV conglomerates, Mediaset, and shamelessly promoted his work through its popular broadcasting. The man was in dire need of being humanised, and his faults were brought to light in a suave, engaging film that’s nowhere near as heavy to digest as the sex parties the Italian public had to watch its leader attend.
The longest-serving prime minister in Italy’s republic was in power for nearly a decade, and the influence he left was lasting, passing away in 2023, five years after the movie’s release, and was mourned more than anyone expected. One year after his death, the Berlusconi family quietly bought the rights to the film and is refusing to distribute it on absolutely any platform.
“It’s a good thing that it’s on TikTok at least, because the film isn’t around in Italy,” said Toni Servillo, the movie’s protagonist, guest appearance on Dario Moccia’s podcast in 2024. “The film is available on the German, French, and English markets…the broadcast rights were acquired by Mediaset.”
Berlusconi’s tentacles reached beyond his own TV channels, since no other Italian broadcaster, state-owned included, showed the film after its release, and the man who got to step into the shoes of one of Europe’s most enigmatic leaders was pressed to reveal the reason behind the movie’s sudden disappearance, to which he neutrally responded, “The film was purchased by someone who has no interest in distributing it in Italy.”
A healthy sprinkle of cinematic satire made this biopic so memorable, inviting audiences to focus on the man beyond the headlines, all the more important because Sorrentino had sought to portray Berlusconi rather than his political persona, “For me, a film is about uncovering a mystery. And in Italy, many mysteries are closely tied to the Church, politics, and the Mafia. I’m interested in exploring these worlds,” he told BBC. “I’d like to try to describe this complex character. I’m interested in the man that’s behind the politician.”
Ironically, the family behind the politician took over from the man.
