Droll indictment of Italy’s media

Gandini’s documentary “Videocracy’’ makes spooky comedy of a nation’s addiction to fame. The movie briefly, impressionistically assays an industry that produces a version of the voyeur’s trystathon, “Big Brother,’’ and a late-night quiz show where a correct answer costs a beautiful housewife an item of clothing.

The movie unfolds in a dreamy calm. Gandini finds and observes Enrico, a singing, kicking mamma’s boy whose self-described persona is the Ricky Martin of martial arts. Enrico’s day job is mechanic, and his audition indicates he should keep it. Yet Enrico remains bitter because he knows that were he a woman, he’d be on TV all the time.

To that end, Gandini visits auditions for showgirls — they’re “veline’’ in Italian, and they stand around silent for most of a news broadcast then erupt in movement during a 30-second dance break (the “stacchetto’’). He fashions a couple of glorious montages of them in action, thrusting and twisting, sometimes in only bikinis, heels, and pasties. In his sedate narration, Gandini drolly explains that the prime minister’s commitment to the rights of women inspired him to appoint a former velina as his minister for gender equality.