'The Great Beauty' wins Italy its 11th best foreign film Oscar

Paolo Sorrentino directed "The Great Beauty", a visually stunning drama about an aging writer going through existential crisis, brought Italy its record 11th Oscar in the best foreign film category.
"The Great Beauty", Sorrentino's nod to Federico Fellini and his film "La Dolce Vita", has been winning hearts since it was screened in festivals.
Sorrentino thanked the cast and crew and his family in his Oscar acceptance speech besides paying tribute to his "souces of inspiration" to directors Federico Fellini and Martin Scorsese among others.
His film tackles hedonism and the beauty of Rome through Jep Gambardella (Toni Servillo), a well-known but world weary journalist who is at the centre of the city's decadent social world.

Gambardella, whose fame has come from the lone novel that he wrote in his youth, starts reflecting about his unfulfilled writing career on his 65th birthday. The party-loving Gambardella is also haunted by the memory of his first love.
"The Great Beauty" won all the awards -- the Golden Globe and the BAFTAs -- in the lead up to the Oscars and was a strong favourite over other nominees -- Belgium's "The Broken Circle Breakdown", Denmark's "The Hunt", Cambodia's "The Missing Picture" and "Omar" from Palestine.
Sorrentino, 43, and Servillo are frequent collaborators with the actor appearing in all the director's films except for "This Must Be The Place" and "The Family Guy".