Italian film on sex-mad politician: Fact or fiction?
The comedy Qualunquemente hits Italian theatres this week, just as Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi battles a growing storm over allegations that he paid for sex with prostitutes.
The film revolves around Cetto La Qualunque, a small-time fugitive who returns to his hometown in the southern region of Calabria and runs for mayor to combat what he considers a dangerous wave of law and order sweeping the town.
Flanked by half-naked women, Cetto goes on the campaign trail with the intentionally shocking slogans. “I have no dream, but I like pussy.”
Off the trail, Cetto parties with topless women in a hot tub, frequents prostitutes and admiringly tells a bikini-clad woman: “Your lovely body qualifies you for town councillor.”
Coming just as Italy grapples with leaked accounts of wild “bunga bunga” parties at Berlusconi’s home with prostitutes procured by a showgirl-turned regional councillor, the film has drawn sizeable attention and more than a few snickers.
“The filmmaker assures us it is a ‘very funny’ film, but the truth is that there’s little to laugh at because reality — now, more than ever — has vastly overtaken fiction,” film critic Fulvia Caprara wrote in La Stampa newspaper.
“The vulgar horrors on the screen are nothing compared to those we see mentioned in the accounts leaked to newspapers,” the critic adds.
Taking a swipe at Berlusconi after magistrates accused him of paying to sleep with a 17-year-old dancer, Alessandro Pignatiello, coordinator of the Communist-Leftist Federation said: “Cetto La Qualunque in comparison is just an amateur.”
Popular comedian Antonio Albanese, who co-wrote the script and stars as Cetto, says the character was not influenced in the slightest by Berlusconi or any other political figure.
Indeed, the character was first created for a television show in 2003.
“I wanted to explain our country. It has disappointing things,” he told reporters.
“But by making it funny, we can make the next generation understand that these people are ridiculous.”
Impeccable in purple suits, Cetto rants against justice —“Makes me sick”, taxes — “Like drugs” and culture, preferring prostitutes, golden bathtubs and a South American girlfriend who usurps his long-suffering wife’s place.
