Parthenope review — soft porn and not much else
Paolo Sorrentino, the Italian writer-director who gave us such playfully profound dazzlers as The Great Beauty and The Young Pope, has degenerated into embarrassing soft-porn perving in a film that purports to chart 75 years of a woman's life but focuses pretty much exclusively on her nubile years.
Parthenope, played for most of the film by Celeste Dalla Porta, is as gorgeous as the Neapolitan scenery in which Sorrentino plonks her. The director certainly thinks so, lingering lasciviously on her bikini-clad form in scene after scene. It's two fingers up at #MeToo and a baseball bat to his reputation.
This is a film that strives desperately for beauty, sensuality and philosophical depth and only sporadically achieves the first of those. Even the beauty
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
34 minutes ago
- The Sun
Mum rants about ‘worst hols ever' & ‘disgusting food' at 4-star Greek hotel but trolls call her a ‘drama queen'
A BRIT mum has been dubbed a ''drama queen'' after ranting about the ''worst holiday ever'' at a four-star Greek hotel. Mother-of-two, only known as TikToker @ strawbz938, jetted off to Greece with her family after booking the holiday with TUI. 2 The furious mother, from Cardiff, claimed they were promised ''a five-star resort '' where they'd stay for ''seven nights'' - but the ordeal soon turned into ''a long list of problems''. After landing in Rhodes and checking into the resort, the mum discovered the accommodation was ''a three-star resort''. ''But because they have a water park, they're able to bump it up to a four-star. ''In my opinion, it's not even a three-star,'' she said in the TikTok video, showing viewers the conditions of the resort. The outraged mother also added that while the pool area ''looked stunning'', upon further inspection, she discovered everything was ''taped together''. After complaining to the staff, the family was then moved to a different part of the resort - however, the new room also ''wasn't up'' to her standards. ''I was under the impression that I was booking a five-star resort,'' she said, vowing to ''do research and read the reviews'' next time. Unfortunately for the holiday-goers, it ''then went from bad to worse'', as they here hit by ''a massive storm''. ''We got absolutely soaked walking back and forth from the one hotel to the other. At this point, I was just wanted to cry,'' the TikToker lamented. To their absolute horror, the area was covered by mega puddles - with the hubby having to carry the mother across, as ''there was no way'' she'd walk through the rain water in her ''90p flip flops from Primark ''. Although the following day the weather had improved, the mother was less than impressed with the food - which she dubbed ''absolutely disgusting''. Sharing her woes online, the holiday-goer also showed viewers her plate of lasagna, salad, coleslaw and couscous. After desperately wanting to ''leave the hotel'', the family ventured out and visited the ''stunning'' Old Town. She said: ''Everyone kept telling to try and cheer up and just deal with it - that's exactly what I did for my children, I wanted them to have the best holiday ever.'' But their troubles didn't end there - as an hour after going to bed, they were woken up by '' a massive earthquake ''. In the end, the mother decided that she had had ''enough'' and took the family back home. She went on in the caption: ''I know I'm lucky to have a holiday and some people aren't in a position to even go away for the weekend but when you've requested specific standards and you turn up to a lot less, it's very frustrating!'' Cheap holiday essentials IF you're jetting abroad this summer, here are the cheap holiday essentials you won't want to miss. PACKING CUBES: They're loved by mum-of-22 Sue Radford and not only do they save space in your luggage, but they'll ensure that your case is super neat and tidy. TAG TRACKER: There's nothing worse than loosing your luggage, but thanks to this handy £15 buy from B&M, you won't have to worry about that on your next trip. KIDS' CABIN BAG: Don't worry if you can't afford to splash the cash on a Trunki, as Aldi are selling an alternative dupe buy for just £29.99 - and it's great for children. HAND LUGGAGE CASE: For those that are opting to go hand luggage instead of paying a fortune for a check-in bag, Morrisons are selling extra small cases, that are perfect for taking on a flight, for only £7.99. Although TUI ''are currently dealing with the situation'', the furious TikToker - who claimed to have forked out £5k for the trip - said she didn't ''have much faith at all''. ''As for me being dramatic over the earthquake - yes, I do overreact, I overthink and I panic and when my children are involved I act fast and I just up and left, maybe if I hadn't of had the worst holiday ever to begin with I'd feel more comfortable saying after I'd calmed down!'' 'Drama queen' Since being posted online, the holiday video has taken the internet by storm, amassing close to 370k views in just one day. But while the mother was certainly far from impressed with the getaway, people online thought she was overreacting, as they branded her a ''drama queen''. One said: ''Drama queen. you cut your kids holiday short,take out board games,enjoy your time with the children!'' Another chimed in: ''Complaining about the weather and earthquake like it's TUI or the Hotels fault.'' A third joked: ''Did TUI make it rain?'' Someone else said: ''I don't think I've ever booked a holiday without extensively checking review sites. Is that not just standard practice?'' However, there were also plenty of those who agreed with the mum-of-two, with one writing: ''it looks sounds like a holiday from hell. nice that your husband carried you over the puddle lol.'' ''This is such a shame when you spend your hard earned money trying to make the best memories for your family! glad you're home safe!'' commented another.
The Guardian
40 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Design and Disability review – ‘A world-shaping, boundary-breaking joy of a show'
Running through each section of this tremendous show is something mainstream society doesn't get to see very often: disabled joy. It's there in the harness that allows deaf and hearing-impaired gig-goers to feel music as vibrations on their chest. It's there in the vibrant clothes. It's there – certainly – in the all-purpose hands-free vibrator (yes, really). But it's not just the individual items that exude this joy. It's the themes of community action and care that show up again and again, and the reframing of the very concept of disability – from the 'medical problem' society sees to the proud identity we know it to be. This show, which takes a wide-ranging look at how disabled people have fashioned the world to better represent ourselves and better suit our needs, is divided into three parts: Visibility, Tools and Living. In Visibility, we see the evolution of accessible fashion from sterile to cool, and how disabled people have used photography to reclaim our images and bodies. In Tools, we see how disabled people have adapted everything from kitchen utensils to computers to allow us to get things done. And in Living, we see how we have demanded cultural and architectural change so that we can participate in society as equals. The exhibition does a great job of including the full range of impairments disabled people have. There's a bike with a built-in leg brace and a video explaining the concept of deaf space (an architectural idea about how spaces can be designed to support lip-reading and the use of BSL). There's a self-tightening shoe and the original fidget-spinner, designed to help autistic and other neurodivergent people. In this way, the exhibition goes far beyond the tired assumption that access means a ramp. It is also great to see disability-led design from all areas of life – not just care and housing, but also gaming, socialising, working, travelling, urban-planning and more. So often disability is treated as a monolithic experience, but the V&A is showing it in all its diverse, multifaceted glory. The exhibition also has a deliberate focus on design not only for disabled people but by disabled people. In a world in which people often make assumptions about our needs, and presume to speak on our behalf, this is very welcome. Many of the projects and products featured are DIY inventions, moulded out of necessity by disabled people who weren't able to buy the tools they needed. Others are the work of grassroots organising groups, or individual disabled people leveraging their jobs at big companies to create change. Taken together, these items and their stories serve as a powerful reminder of disabled people's often-overlooked agency, and a refutation of the idea that we are merely the recipients of help. We can and do help ourselves. As Tristram Hunt, the former Labour MP who is now the V&A's director, emphasised at the exhibition's launch, the idea is for it to embody the famous disability rights slogan: 'Nothing about us without us.' It truly does. This slogan applies politically as well as culturally. And what I like most about the exhibition is that it does not shy away from the inherently political nature of disability. Many objects on display are directly linked to the long fight for disability rights: one of the first things you see is a T-shirt emblazoned with the 'Piss on Pity' slogan from the 1990 Block Telethon campaign. There are photos of disabled people stopping buses during the Campaign for Accessible Transport, as well as pieces related to the more recent (and ongoing) cuts to disability benefits. But beyond referencing these discrete historical events, the exhibition also recognises that existing, thriving and finding joy as a disabled person in an ableist world is a political – often radical – act. That radicalism is reinforced by the show's emphasis on the intersection between disability and other marginalised identities, with pieces linked to the Black Panthers and queer culture. This will feel intimately familiar to many disabled visitors, for whom it will be lovely to see their lived experiences reflected at a prestigious arts institution, but will hopefully provide a new perspective for nondisabled viewers, many of whom will never have seen disability and disabled lives presented in this way. That's what makes Design and Disability so good. It takes what disabled people know to be true – that we are creative, that we are innovators, that our exclusion comes from a world not built for us, that our lives are political – and makes those ideas interesting and accessible for everyone. Disability culture is vibrant and fun, boundary-breaking and world-shaping. So is this exhibition. Design and Disability is at the V&A, London, from Saturday until 15 February 2026
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Michelle Keegan stuns in a sports bra on holiday as she cradles baby daughter Palma
MICHELLE Keegan looked stunning in a sports bra on holiday as she lovingly cradled her baby daughter Palma. The new mum has been enjoying time in Spain with husband Mark Wright and their little girl. 5 5 5 The happy family are in Marbella, to celebrate Michelle 's 38nd birthday. The Brassic actress has been keeping fans-up-to-date with their sweet vacation. Michelle shared a slew of snaps from her idyllic holiday on her Instagram Stories. The pics included lots of sweet snaps of her cradling her baby close to her. Michelle is spending time in Marbella with Towie star husband Mark. Yesterday they were snapped carrying Palma to the local shops. The pair looked as loved-up as ever, as they enjoyed their holiday together. NEW JOB? The couple's trip to comes after Mark dropped a huge hint on social media that he might be heading back to the states for work. Mark took to his Instagram story as he took a selfie outside of the impressive US Embassy building in Nine Elms, London. The former ITV reality star captioned his snap: "Visa renewal," alongside an emoji of the US flag. Mark Wright and Michelle Keegan take newborn baby Palma to another luxury hotel as they stay in £21k a night suite ALONG COMES BABY Michelle and husband Mark Wright welcomed baby girl Palma in March. The couple - who have been married for nine years - shared their happy news on Instagram. They shared: "Together we have a new love to share. Our little girl. "Palma Elizabeth Wright, 06.03.25."
