As the movie was released just before the beginning of the 2006 Italian general election, the media and some politicians complained it could influence the voters' decision. In fact, the movie became one of the year's most successful movies in Italy, and 'Silvio Berlusconi' lost the election. Anyway, it seems to be hasty to claim this movie as a cause for the election's final results: some left wing people use to think that 'Il Caimano' gave to Berlusconi some decimal points in the election's stats.
The comment made by the Caiman during his trial, "Yes, but this citizen is perhaps more equal than the others", is a reference to 'Animal Farm' by George Orwell, in which some animals are more equal than others.
Numerous Italian filmmakers such as Giuliano Montaldo, Carlo Mazzacurati, Paolo Virzì, Daniele Luchetti, Matteo Garrone, Paolo Sorrentino, and Antonello Grimaldi play minor roles.
According to Nanni Moretti, this is not a film "about" Berlusconi.
In 2012, Forbes magazine reported that Berlusconi was Italy's sixth richest man, with a net worth of $5.9 billion. He holds significant assets in television, newspaper, publishing, cinema, finance, banking, insurance, and sports.