The Caiman (2006)

Nanni Moretti is one of the most overtly political of contemporary filmmakers, although his films are deeply humanist and humorous. The Caiman is his cri de coeur against what he perceives as Silvio Berlusconi’s scandalous tenure as Prime Minister of Italy. Made specifically to influence April’s Italian elections (which Berlusconi lost), the film is no conventional political pamphlet. This is a piece of fiction made by a committed artist despairing of a situation and determined to share his agony. The Caiman has become Moretti’s greatest success at the Italian box office. The story revolves around Bruno (Silvio Orlando), a down-on-his-luck producer of campy, low-budget movies with titles like Moccasin Assassins and Lady Cop in Stilettos. His marriage in tatters, he halfheartedly tries to finance his next effort, The Return of Christopher Columbus. When he meets Teresa (Jasmine Trinca), a young filmmaker, Bruno decides to help make her film after a quick glance at her script. It is not until the first pitch session that he realizes its subject is Berlusconi. Horror and skepticism gradually turn to excitement and then commitment. Putting aside his own floundering project, Bruno takes Teresa’s script and sets out to turn it into a film, while attempting to salvage what remains of his personal life. Blending his trademark brand of humour with political statement is one of the high-wire acts for which Moretti is renowned – just think of his earlier masterpiece Palombella rossa. This new film dares to imitate the same delicate balance. Moretti interweaves the personal with the political, giving The Caiman an edge which both humanizes the political and politicizes the personal. Struggling to bring Teresa’s vision to the screen forces Bruno into contact with his own anger and sense of diminished opportunities. Trapped in a confusing situation, he gradually begins to bring a sense of order and logic to the chaos of his life, much like making a film. And within the film they are making lies a devastating glimpse of Berlusconi, the man who promised Italy so much and left it deeply divided.