Il Caimano (2006)

39% of critics liked it
(18 reviews)
60% of users liked it
(2,466 ratings)

Controversial Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berluscoi is just one of the targets of writer and director Nanni Moretti's satiric focus in this sharp comedy-drama. In the 1970's, Bruno (Silvio Orlando) was one of Italy's most daring and best-respected filmmakers, while his wife Paola (Margherita Buy)… More Controversial Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berluscoi is just one of the targets of writer and director Nanni Moretti's satiric focus in this sharp comedy-drama. In the 1970's, Bruno (Silvio Orlando) was one of Italy's most daring and best-respected filmmakers, while his wife Paola (Margherita Buy) was a leading box-office star. However, come the new millennium, things are a whole lot different for Bruno -- Paola is divorcing him, his production company is on the verge of bankruptcy, and he can't get a new project off the ground. When Teresa (Jasmine Trinca), a young woman down on her luck, approaches Bruno with a script, he agrees to take on the project, even though he hasn't read it and doesn't know how he'll raise the money. Bruno discovers he's put himself in hot water when he reads the screenplay and discovers it's a frontal assault on Silvio Berluscoi that doesn't shy away from allegations of his connection to organized crime, tax evasion, bribery and influence peddling. While Italian firms won't dare touch the project, Bruno discovers a Polish financier (Jerzy Stuhr) who will put up the money, but under one condition -- Bruno has to persuade box-office idol Marco Pulici (Michele Placidio) to play Berluscoi. Il Caimano (aka The Caiman) received its North American premier at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 53 min.
Directed By: Nanni Moretti
Written By: Nanni Moretti, Francesco Piccolo
Genres: Drama, Art House & International, Comedy

In Theaters: Jan 1, 2006 Wide
Studio: Bac Films

Critic Reviews

Peter Howell, Toronto Star
[Director Moretti] wraps his political agenda with an affecting story about a fading filmmaker whose dreams and beliefs aren't weathering the storms of middle age. If the politics don't get you, the life empathy will.
, Globe and Mail
A familiarity with the vagaries of Italian politics in the last 20 years is a help, but not a necessity, to appreciate this fascinating at times farcical blend of domestic drama and political rumination.
Duane Byrge, Hollywood Reporter
A warm family drama pops through the seams of a film within-a-film about Silvio Berlusconi.
S. James Wegg, JWR
... the film-within-the film wraps, but the willful manipulation of honest citizens continues unabated.
Jim Slotek, Jam! Movies
An unfocused mess of a movie that fairly throws its hands in the air in the final act, rather than chug along to a conclusion.
Anton Bitel, Film4
one can only assume that it was the accumulation of Berlusconi's own indiscretions that cost him the 2006 elections rather than the muted blows of this aimlessly incoherent and over-clever satire.
Philip French, Observer [UK]
Telling moments occur here and there, but there is a slack randomness to the movie, the attack on Berlusconi is unfocused and Bruno is too weak to sustain the film.
Ian Johns, Times [UK]
Some moments amuse but one's left wishing that Moretti had ditched his film-within-a-film framework and made either a documentary or a domestic drama.
Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]
Muddled and messy anti-Berlusconi satire now looks even more exasperating than when I first saw it.
Will Lawrence, Empire Magazine
The political satire in this bitty drama can be lost on those residing outside of Italy.
Rich Cline, Film Threat
A fascinating film about moviemaking and government corruption, but it requires a fairly thorough understanding of Italian politics.
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
Revela-se três filmes em um; e o problema é que, embora funcione bem ao lidar com as atribulações de seu protagonista, acaba falhando no campo que talvez seja mais importante para seu realizador: o político.
Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile
The Caiman is a curious film. While there are flashes of brilliance and stimulating ideas, it is plagued by an underbelly of confusion
Dave Calhoun, Time Out
It's uneven.
Matthew Turner, ViewLondon
Patchy but enjoyable mish-mash of political satire, relationship drama and film-making comedy, though it does require a certain understanding of Italian politics.
Joseph Proimakis, Movies for the Masses
[click to read review in Greek]
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
...ultimately hurt by the overt familiarity of its storyline...

Read all 17 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Pierluigi P

A comparison between two systems, the disastrous life of a film producer, and the calamitous course of a country ruled by a hypocrite and corrupt villain (which is not fiction at all, not only in italy). A satire about power and the odyssey of making a movie about it. funny and with… More
A comparison between two systems, the disastrous life of a film producer, and the calamitous course of a country ruled by a hypocrite and corrupt villain (which is not fiction at all, not only in italy). A satire about power and the odyssey of making a movie about it. funny and with charming performances, nevertheless, some parts of the screenplay and the character played by Jasmine Trinca are a bit weak, and I also think the life of the producer, superbly played by Silvio Orlando, was far more interesting than the political aspects that Nanni Moretti was anxious to denounce, as he did right at the end. but that would be another movie, of course.

Cast

            Silvio Orlando as Bruno Bonomo

            Margherita Buy as Aidra

            Daniele Rampello as Andrea

            Jasmine Trinca as Teresa

            Giacomo Passarelli as Giacomo

            Cecilia Dazzi as Luisa

            Martina Iero as Margherita

            Luisa De Santis as Marisa

            Giuliano Montaldo as Franco Caspio

            Tatti Sanguineti as Peppe Savonese

            Antonio Catania as RAI Manager

            Elio De Capotani as The Caiman

            Valerio Mastrandrea as Cesari

            Toni Bertorelli as Journalist

            Anna Bonaiuto as Public Prosecutor

            Stefano Rulli as Court House President

            Antonio Petrocelli as The Caiman's Lawyer

            Paolo DeVita as Chaffeur

            Paolo Virzì as Maoist Leader

            Paolo Sorrentino as Aidra's Husband

            Dario Cantarelli as Food Critic

            Carlo Mazzacurati as Waiter

            Antonello Grimaldi as Production Manager

            Lorenzo Alessandri as Assistant Director

            Giovanna Nicolai as Costume Designer

            Mimmo Mancini as Trainer

            Bruno Memoli as Car Driver in Accident

            Fabrizio Morandi as Notary

            Andrea Tidona as Bank Manager

            Sofia Vigliar as Babysitter

            Renato De Maria as Teresa's Father

            Linda Brunetta as Teresa's Mother

            Michele Placido as Marco Pulici

            Nanni Moretti as The Caiman

            Jerzy  Stuhr as Jerzy Sturovski
See full cast