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BEL CINEMA!

Videocracy

ERIK GANDINI
Sweden, Denmark, UK, Finland, 2009, 80 minutes, Color, film's website

Imagine that the president of the United States was also the president of CBS, Fox, HBO—and MTV, too. That's sort of what happened in Italy, where Silvio Berlusconi got rich on sex, scandal, and reality TV. Berlusconi vaulted from smutty quiz shows to the presidential palace, expanding his show-biz empire as he built a political one. To put Berlusconi's career in context, this cheeky documentary assembles clips from Italian TV, including a campaign ad in which flocks of attractive women sing "Thank God Silvio exists" in the pop-chorale style of "We Are the World." Director Erik Gandini introduces one of Berlusconi's pals, a TV executive with unapologetically pro-fascist sympathies, and a paparazzi agent who became a popular hero after serving time for extortion. Also featured is a wannabe celebrity whose act combines Jean-Claude Van Damme and Ricky Martin. Maybe he'll be president someday. —Mark Jenkins

In Italian and English with English subtitles

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