by Mark Murton

English Translation: The Divine

Directed by: Paolo Sorrentino

Synopsis: The story of Giulio Andreotti (Tony Sevillo), seven-time Prime Minister of Italy notorious for his alleged ties to the Mafia.

Faux Cat: Walking through the Italian parliament building on his way to a meeting, Andreotti encounters a white Persian odd-eyed cat sitting in his path. Andreotti stops in his tracks, looks hesitantly around and then claps his hands at the cat, expecting it to move out of the way. Instead it just fixes him with a stare (a close-up of the cat’s eyes reflect Andreotti standing with a fixed stare as the cat’s pupils open wider.)

Unsure what to do when he doesn’t receive the same level of servility as he gets in human interactions, Andreotti claps at the cat again. But the cat just continues to stare.

A nearby guard looks terrified as the cat sits passively on the checkered marble floor.

Kitty Cameo: Again Andreotti claps his hands, and eventually, presumably having made its point, the cat saunters off, taking time for a quick look back as he or she exits the room.

Clearly a fake cat is used in the close-ups with CGI added for the eye pupil opening effects. The actual model can be seen in a shot from the Making of feature on the DVD.

Final Mewsings: Even the most powerful of men can’t intimidate a cat.

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