Hold on, that's not Italy!?

"Beyond the sea" is somewhat surreal, it has no linear timeline, and things keep happening that wouldn't happen in real life (like people breaking into dance on the street), but I liked the approach. I had no idea who Bobby Darin was, before. Darin was forever trying to find a place in life, from rock'n'roll to swing to protest singer. I have to say I liked his swing era best. Which is also to the credit of Kevin Spacey, who decided to record the songs himself instead of having playbacks played in the movie.
My suspension of disbelief suffered a major blow though, when I recognised the "Italian" palace and park for what it was: Schloss and park Sanssouci in Potsdam, near Berlin! :-D Turned out that the whole film was shot at Babelsberg Studios in Potsdam.