Latest news with #PaoloSorrentino
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Paolo Sorrentino to Receive Sarajevo Film Festival Honor and Retrospective
Italian auteur Paolo Sorrentino is this year's recipient of the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo award to be bestowed upon him during the 31st edition of the Sarajevo Film Festival, which will also feature a retrospective of his films that will be screened as part of the fest's 'tribute to' program. The honor and tribute will be 'in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the art of cinema,' Sarajevo fest organizers said on Tuesday. Sorrentino will also hold a masterclass and 'share his thoughts on contemporary art in a conversation with the audience,' they noted. More from The Hollywood Reporter Disney+ Europe Exec on Why Free-to-Air Partners Are "Incredibly Important for Our Business" 'Lost in Starlight' Director Han Ji-won on Blending Romance and Sci-Fi for Netflix's Breakthrough Korean Animated Feature BBC Boss Says "We Need to Protect Our National IP" and Need "Muscular Partnerships With Big U.S. Tech" 'I am deeply honored to receive this prestigious recognition and grateful for the attention given to my filmography,' said Sorrentino. 'I look forward to being with you in Sarajevo. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.' The fest highlighted the effect the Italian director and screenwriter's oeuvre has had on audiences. 'Paolo Sorrentino [has] managed to do what every filmmaker dreams of – he left a global impact through local, personal stories,' said Jovan Marjanović, director of the Sarajevo Film Festival. 'With visually luxurious, emotionally filled, and intellectually insightful style, he won the hearts of audiences around the world who saw his characters, no matter how eccentric or withdrawn, as a mirror of our world, often absurd, sometimes cruel, but always deeply human. The Honorary Heart of Sarajevo is a recognition of the great beauty that he gave us with his films.' Born in Naples in 1970, Sorrentino's first full-length feature film, One Man Up, came out in 2001 and was selected for the Venice Film Festival. His next two films, The Consequences of Love (2004) and The Family Friend (2006) were in competition for the Palme d'Or in Cannes, as was Il Divo, which won the jury prize in 2008. Sorrentino also returned to the Cannes competition in 2011 with This Must Be the Place and in 2013 with The Great Beauty, which won the Academy Award, the Golden Globe, and the BAFTA Award for the best foreign-language Film. After another Cannes competition appearance in 2016 with Youth, he created and directed the TV series The Young Pope in 2016, followed by the movie Loro in 2018 and the series The New Pope in 2019. In 2021, Sorrentino wrote and directed The Hand of God, which won the Marcello Mastroianni Award at the Venice International Film Festival and five David di Donatello awards, followed by Parthenope in 2024. Previous recipients of the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo include Meg Ryan (2024), Alexander Payne (2024), John Turturro (2024), Mark Cousins (2023), Lynne Ramsay (2023), Charlie Kaufman (2023), Jesse Eisenberg (2022), Ruben Östlund (2022), Sergei Loznitsa (2022), Paul Joseph Schrader (2022), Wim Wenders (2021), Michel Franco (2020), Mads Mikkelsen (2020), Tim Roth (2019), Isabelle Huppert (2019), Alejandro González Iñárritu (2019), Paweł Pawlikowski (2019), Oliver Stone (2017), John Cleese (2017), Stephen Frears (2016), Robert De Niro (2016), Benicio Del Toro (2015), Danis Tanović (2014), Gael García Bernal (2014), Béla Tarr (2013), Branko Lustig (2012), Jafar Panahi (2011), Angelina Jolie (2011), Steve Buscemi (2007), Mike Leigh (2006), and Gavrilo Grahovac (2006). Previous filmmakers in the spotlight in a Sarajevo Film Festival 'tribute to' program includeElia Suleiman (2024), Jessica Hausner (2023), Sergei Loznitsa (2022), Wim Wenders (2021), Michel Franco (2020), Paweł Pawlikowski (2019), Nuri Bilge Ceylan (2018), Joshua Oppenheimer and Oliver Stone (2017), Michael Winterbottom (2014), Cristi Puiu (2013), Todd Solondz (2012), Jia Zhang-ke (2009), Todd Haynes (2008), Tsai Ming-Liang and Ulrich Seidl (2007), Abel Ferrara and Béla Tarr (2006), Alexander Payne (2005), Stephen Frears (2002), Mike Leigh (2001), and Steve Buscemi (2000). Best of The Hollywood Reporter 13 of Tom Cruise's Most Jaw-Dropping Stunts Hollywood Stars Who Are One Award Away From an EGOT 'The Goonies' Cast, Then and Now
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
David di Donatello Awards: Maura Delpero's War Drama ‘Vermiglio' Wins Best Film
Maura Delpero's Italian WW2 drama Vermiglio won best film at the 70th David Di Donatello awards, Italy's version of the Oscars, held at Rome's historic Cinecittà film studio on Wednesday night. Delpero also took best directing honors en route to a 7-trophy sweep. The film, which had its world premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival last year, beat out the two award frontrunners, Paolo Sorrentino's Parthenope, a sumptuous, occasionally surreal tribute to his hometown of Naples, and Andrea Segre's The Great Ambition, a political biopic about Italian Communist Party leader Enrico Berlinguer, which lead the pack going into the David awards with 15 nominations each. Parthenope went away empty-handed, but The Great Ambition took two awards: Best actor for Elio Germano, who play Berlinguer, and best editing for Jacopo Quadri. More from The Hollywood Reporter What Happens to Hollywood When the U.S. Is No Longer the Good Guy? Turkish Mobile Gaming Studio Fuse Games Gets $7 Million in Funding Margaret Atwood to Receive The Hollywood Reporter's Women in Entertainment Canada Honor Tecla Insolia won best actress for her starring role in Nicolangelo Gelormini's Sicilian period drama L'arte della gioia (The Art of Joy). Francesco Di Leva took best supporting actor for Francesco Costabile's thriller. The David for best debut feature went to Margherita Vicario for Gloria!, a period drama about an all-female orchestra at a Church-run establishment in early-1800s Italy. Timothée Chalamet added some Hollywood glam to the awards, attending the ceremony to receive an honorary David for 'cinematic excellence.' The lifetime achievement honor went to writer-director Pupi Avati (Giovanna's Father, Incanto). Oscar-winning director Giuseppe Tornatore (Cinema Paradiso) received a special 70th anniversary David award. In the best international film category, Sean Baker's multi-Oscar winner Anora added a David to its trophy case. Check out the full list of 2025 David Di Donatello winners below. Best FilmThe Great Ambition, dir: Andrea SegreThe Time It Takes, dir: Francesca ComenciniL'arte della gioia prodotto, dir: Valeria GolinoParthenope, dir: Paolo Sorrentino, dir: Maura Delpero WINNER Best DirectorAndrea Segre for The Great AmbitionFrancesca Comencini for The Time It TakesValeria Golino for L'arte della gioiaPaolo Sorrentino for ParthenopeMaura Delpero for WINNER Best Directorial DebutCiao bambino Edgardo Pistone Margherita Vicario WINNERI bambini di Gaza Loris LaiIo e il Secco Gianluca SantoniZamora Neri Marcorè Best Original ScreenplayAndrea Segre, Marco Pettenello for The Great AmbitionEnrico Maria Artale for El ParaisoMargherita Vicario, Anita Rivaroli for Gloria!Francesca Comencini for The Time It TakesPaolo Sorrentino for ParthenopeMaura Delpero for WINNER Best Adapted ScreenplayGianni Amelio, Alberto Taraglio for BattlefieldFrancesco Costabile, Vittorio Moroni, Adriano Chiarelli for FamiliaRoberto Proia for The Boy With Pink TrousersValeria Golino, Francesca Marciano, Valia Santella, Luca Infascelli, Stefano Sardo for WINNERGabriele Salvatores for Napoli – New York Best ProducerThe Great Ambition: Marta Donzelli, Gregorio Paonessa for Vivo Film, Francesco Bonsembiante for Jolefilm, Rai Cinema, Joseph Rouschop for Tarantula, Martichka Bozhilova for AgitpropCiao bambino: Gaetano Di Vaio, Giovanna Crispino for Bronx Film, Alessandro Elia, Walter De Majo for Anemone Film, Andrea Leone, Antonella Di Martino for Mosaicon Film, Santo Versace, Gianluca Curti for Minerva PicturesGloria!: Valeria Jamonte, Manuela Melissano, Carlo Cresto-Dina for Tempesta, Rai Cinema, Katrin Renz for Tellfilm: Francesca Andreoli, Leonardo Guerra Seràgnoli, Santiago Fondevila Sancet, Maura Delpero for Cinedora, Rai Cinema, Charades (coproduction with la Francia), Versus (coproduction with il Belgio) WINNERVittoria: Nanni Moretti, Lorenzo Cioffi, Giorgio Giampà, in collaboration with Alessandra Stefani Best ActressBarbara Ronchi for FamiliaRomana Maggiora Vergano for The Time It TakesTecla Insolia for WINNERCeleste Dalla Porta for ParthenopeMartina Scrinzi for Vermiglio Best ActorElio Germano for WINNERFrancesco Gheghi for FamiliaFabrizio Gifuni for Il tempo che ci vuoleSilvio Orlando for ParthenopeTommaso Ragno for Vermiglio Best Supporting ActressGeppi Cucciari for DiamantiTecla Insolia for FamiliaValeria Bruni Tedeschi for WINNERJasmine Trinca for L'arte della gioiaLuisa Ranieri for Parthenope Best Supporting ActorRoberto Citran for The Great AmbitionFrancesco Di Leva for WINNERGuido Caprino for L'arte della gioiaPierfrancesco Favino for Napoli – New YorkPeppe Lanzetta for Parthenope Best CastingStefania De Santis for The Great AmbitionAnna Pennella for FamiliaMassimo Appolloni for Gloria!Francesco Vedovati, Anna Maria Sambucco, Massimo Appolloni for L'arte della gioiaStefania Rodà, Maurilio Mangano for WINNER Best CinematographyLuan Amelio Ujkaj for BattlefieldMatteo Cocco for DostoevskijDaniele Ciprì for Hey JoeFabio Cianchetti for L'arte della gioiaDaria D'Antonio for ParthenopeMikhail Krichman for WINNER Best ScoreIosonouncane for The Great AmbitionThom Yorke for TrustMargherita Vicario, Davide Pavanello for WINNERColapesce for Sicilian LettersNicola Piovani for The Children's Train Best Original Song'Knife Edge' – Music, Thom Yorke text and interpretation, for Trust'Diamanti' – Music Giuliano Taviani, Carmelo Travia, text Giorgia Todrani, interpretation Giorgia for Diamanti'Atoms' – Music and text Valerio Vigliar, interpretation Greta Zuccoli for Familia'Aria!' – Music and text Margherita Vicario, Davide Pavanello, Edwyn Clark Roberts, Andrea Bonomo, Gianluigi Fazio, interpretation Margherita Vicario for WINNER'La malvagità' – Music and text Colapesce for The Sicilian Letters Best Production DesignAlessandro Vannucci, Laura Casalini for The Great AmbitionLuca Merlini, Giulietta Rimoldi for L'arte della gioiaTonino Zera, Maria Grazia Schirripa, Carlotta Desmann for WINNERCarmine Guarino, Iole Autero for ParthenopePirra, Vito Giuseppe Zito, Sara Pergher for Vermiglio Best CostumeMary Montalto for Gloria!Maria Rita Barbera for L'arte della gioiaMassimo Cantini Parrini for WINNERCarlo Poggioli for ParthenopeAndrea Cavalletto for Vermiglio Best MakeupSara Morlando, Rossella Sicignano, Leonardo Cruciano, Viola Moneta for The Great AmbitionMaurizio Fazzini for L'arte della gioiaAlessandra Vita, Valentina Visintin for WINNERPaola Gattabrusi, Lorenzo Tamburini for ParthenopeFrédérique Foglia for Vermiglio Best HairDesiree Corridoni for The Great AmbitionMarta Iacoponi, Carla Indoni for Gloria!Aldo Signoretti, Domingo Santoro for WINNERMarco Perna for ParthenopeTiziana Argiolas for Vermiglio Best EditingJacopo Quadri for WINNERWalter Fasano for DostoevskijGiogiò Franchini for L'arte della gioiaCristiano Travaglioli for ParthenopeLuca Mattei for Vermiglio Best SoundAlessandro Palmerini, Marc Bastien, Vincent Grégorio, Franco Piscopo for The Great AmbitionEmanuele Cicconi, Alessandro Feletti, Alessandro Giacco, Marco Falloni for BattlefieldXavier Lavorel, Daniela Bassani, François Wolf, Maxence Ciekawy for Gloria!Emanuele Cecere, Silvia Moraes, Mirko Perri, Michele Mazzucco for ParthenopeDana Farzanehpour, Hervé Guyader, Hervé Guyader, Emmanuel De Boissieu for WINNER Best Visual EffectsTristan Lilien, Michel Denis for The Great AmbitionFrancesco Niolu, Rodolfo Migliari for L'arte della gioiaFabio Tomassetti, Daniele Tomassetti for LimonovVictor Perez for WINNERRodolfo Migliari, Lena Di Gennaro for Parthenope Best DocumentaryDuse – The Greatest, dir: Sonia BergamascoThe Secret Drawer, dir: Costanza QuatriglioL'occhio della gallina, dir: Antonietta De Lillo, dir: Francesca Mannocchi WINNERPrima della fine – Gli ultimi giorni di Enrico Berlinguer, dir: Samuele Rossi Best International Film, dir: Sean Baker WINNERConclave, dir: Edward BergerJuror #2, dir: Clint EastwoodThe Zone of Interest, dir: Jonathan GlazerPerfect Days, dir: Wim Wenders Best of The Hollywood Reporter 'The Goonies' Cast, Then and Now "A Nutless Monkey Could Do Your Job": From Abusive to Angst-Ridden, 16 Memorable Studio Exec Portrayals in Film and TV The 10 Best Baseball Movies of All Time, Ranked
Times
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
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
The Guardian
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Parthenope to Poker Face: a complete guide to this week's entertainment
ParthenopeOut now Selected for Cannes last year, the latest from Paolo Sorrentino, director of The Great Beauty and Youth stars Gary Oldman. And per Sorrentino's Fellini-esque motifs of feminine elegance and the visual splendour of Italy, he casts Celeste Dalla Porta in a decade-spanning coming-of-age story about a young woman born in the sea near Naples in 1950. ThunderboltsOut now Florence Pugh plays trained spy Yelena Belova, adoptive sister of Natasha Romanoff, AKA Black Widow, from which you may gather that we are again engaging with the intricacies of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Yelena and her allies are up against Julia Louis-Dreyfus as a villain called Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. You'll believe a bolt can thunder. Scotland's Folk Film GatheringTo 11 May, Edinburgh Edinburgh's Folk Film Gathering returns to the Cameo and Scottish Storytelling Centre, with new and archive cinema, live music and stories. This year includes performances from Irish fiddler Benedict Morris, Welsh harpist Gwen Màiri Yorke and Edinburgh's Ukrainian choir. Queer East FestivalTo 18 May, various London venues The annual festival of cinema and performing arts is back with more than 100 titles showcasing queer culture across east and south-east Asia, including (as the closing gala) the UK premiere of the documentary Edhi Alice, an exploration of the trans experience in South Korea, from queer activist Ilrhan Kim. Catherine Bray Twenty One Pilots5 to 14 May; tiur starts Glasgow Released last year, US alt-rock duo Twenty One Pilots' seventh album, Clancy, marked the final part of a nearly decade-long conceptual series. While the more intricate details of it all mightmay get lost on this cavernous arena tour, it's is likely to be a fiery, cathartic spectacle. Michael Cragg The Excursions of Mr BroučekBarbican Hall, London, 4 and 6 May Simon Rattle may no longer be the LSO's music director, but his cycle of Janáček's operas continues. Composed in 1920, the rarely performed Excursions of Mr Brouček is a satire of capitalist greed as personified by the beer-swilling Brouček, who journeys to the moon and back to the 15th century. Andrew Clements Patrick Wolf8 to 16 May; tour starts Manchester Ahead of next month's seventh album, Crying the Neck, his first since 2012, the idiosyncratic Wolf heads out on tour. Having dabbled in pulverising electro experiments, string-drenched ballads and synthpop symphonies, Wolf is a jack of all trades who can weave the threads together live. MC Jason MoranMilton Court Concert Hall, London, 9 May The Texan virtuoso pianist/composer Jason Moran has been taking listeners on startling journeys across jazz-rooted contemporary musics since the 1990s, often in illuminating mixed-media performances. On this solo-piano show, Moran celebrates the enthralling paintings of African-American artist Noah Davis. John Fordham Huma Bhabha and GiacomettiBarbican Centre: Level 2, London, 8 May to 10 August The slender, elongated bronze statues of Alberto Giacometti depict people who seem to defy a general catastrophe. They keep going when all they have left is themselves. Karachi-born Bhabha draws on global mythology and art history. She kicks off a year-long programme of 'encounters' between contemporary sculptors and Giacometti's masterpieces. Robert Thomas James MillsCCA, Glasgow, 3 to 24 May Modestly enough, this exhibition claims to offer a chance to think about time, space, the cosmos and your innermost being. On the other hand isn't that what all art is ultimately for? Glasgow artist Mills uses drawings and sound to personify time itself as his lover, in a temporal breakup. Lisa MilroyKate MacGarry Gallery, London, to 31 May This painter known for still lifes of shoes and other everyday objects takes to the skies in her latest works. Her expansive new paintings of the open sky transport you away from material things. Pink tinged clouds hang in spaces of ultramarine blue. Memories of a Vancouver childhood glow bright. That Marvellous AtmosphereStanley Spencer Gallery, Cookham, to 2 November Like a ruined medieval fresco, Stanley Spencer's unfinished painting Christ Preaching at Cookham Regatta transports you to a world of rollicking, Chaucerian fun. This painting, which he worked on for his last decade, teems with roly-poly people and a sacralisation of joy, in a lovely day out on the water. Jonathan Jones Ed NightThe Lowry, Salford, 7 May; touring to 31 May The Plunge may sound like a checklist of zillennial tropes: OCD, body dysmorphia, emotional support animals. But don't expect worthiness from Night. He uses irreverence and a vaguely menacing delivery to give the classic comic misanthrope a modern twist. Rachel Aroesti Gary Clarke Company: DetentionNottingham Playhouse, 8 & 9 May, touring to 15 October Choreographer Clarke has ploughed a fruitful furrow of dance-theatre-documentary, exploring social issues close to home, from the miners' strike to the beginnings of rave culture. His latest work looks at the impact of Clause 28 as a young gay man growing up in a Yorkshire pit village. Lyndsey Winship The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's WivesArcola theatre, London, to 31 May Three wives. Seven children. A very big secret. Lola Shoneyin's story of Baba Segi stole hearts as a novel, with its upending of expectations and raucous reveal. Now Rotimi Babatunde's vivid stage adaptation returns, featuring live Yoruba music and dance. Kate Wyver TakeawayLiverpool Everyman theatre, to 17 May The Hyltons Caribbean takeaway was built with love and a mouth-watering menu. But with the rise of food delivery apps, the future of the family-owned restaurant is uncertain. Amanda Huxtable directs Nathan Powell's joyful story has big laughs and full bellies. KW Sign up to Inside Saturday The only way to get a look behind the scenes of the Saturday magazine. Sign up to get the inside story from our top writers as well as all the must-read articles and columns, delivered to your inbox every weekend. after newsletter promotion Poker FaceNow & Sky Max, 8 May, 9pm As a human lie detector, casino worker Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne) has been blessed with superpowers – but don't expect any turgid comic- book business from this quirky detective series created by Knives Out director Rian Johnson. Season two brings reams of great guests, including Cynthia Erivo and John Mulaney. The Handmaid's TaleChannel 4, 3 May, 9pm It's been eight years since June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss) began fighting the patriarchal regime that kept her enslaved as a baby-making machine; in the intervening period, this adaptation of Margaret Atwood's novel has only become more timely. This sixth and final season sees the handmaids unite in rebellion. Marie AntoinetteiPlayer & BBC Two, 8 May, 9pm In recent years, Lady Jane Grey, Emily Dickinson and Catherine the Great have all been reborn as bolshy yet vulnerable teen girls in a series of irreverent and largely anachronistic comedy dramas. This returning Anglo-French series is cut from the same cloth, as it traces the fortunes of France's last queen within a chaotic and oppressive Versailles. Families Like Ours iPlayer & BBC F0ur, 3 May, 9pm This ambitious Danish drama from Thomas Vinterberg – best known for co-founding the avant-garde Dogme 95 movement with Lars von Trier – imagines the entirety of Denmark being evacuated due to rising sea levels. Per its creator, this is no 'climate-warning' series, but a meditation on the human ability to cope in a crisis. RA Sonic RumblePC, smartphones; out 8 May The latest attempt to reinvent Sega's beloved mascot is an online party game where up to 32 players compete in mini-games until only one survivor remains. Yes, it sounds a lot like Fall Guys, but it's stuffed with classic Sega characters, and developer Rovio knows what it's doing. Among Us 3DPC; out 6 May The original Among Us was one of the surprise hits of the lockdown era – a multiplayer sci-fi strategy game in which two members of a spaceship crew are baddies out to kill other players and sabotage their tasks. The new 3D version provides a first-person perspective, pulling you much closer into the tense, nefarious action. Keith Stuart Jenny Hval – Iris Silver MistOut now Norwegian art-pop practitioner Hval's ninth album is a typically acquired taste. On the fidgety To Be a Rose, the song's structure continually shape-shifts, upending its pop leanings, while the 82-second long electronic curio The Artist is Absent gradually disintegrates. Model/Actriz – PirouetteOut now The Boston noise-rock quartet kicked off this second album era with one of the year's best songs. Cinderella – which tells the tale of frontman Cole Haden's dreams of having a princess-themed fifth birthday party – is a pulsating, live-wire modern rock tornado that would have also dominated an indie sleaze-era dancefloor. Blondshell – If You Asked for a PictureOut now After growing disillusioned with her early pop direction, in 2022 LA's Sabrina Teitelbaum became Blondshell, unveiling a new grunge-adjacent sound. On this second album, produced by Yves Rothman (Kim Gordon), Teitelbaum harnesses that melodic nous on songs such as the lilting 23's a Baby. Yung Lean – JonatanOut now Sweden's SoundCloud-rap originator continues his creative evolution – the 28-year-old also releases music as Jonatan Leandoer96 and Död Mark – on this follow-up to last year's Psykos. While Forever Yung bounces with a hip-hop elasticity, the indie-leaning Babyface Maniacs is a much more downcast affair. MC OlogiesPodcast Writer Alie Ward's longrunning series delves into niche scientific obsessions, inviting a cast of experts to discuss everything from reality TV sociology to domestic phytology – the art of keeping your houseplants alive. An Artist's Manual Against ApartheidOnline Poet Farah Chamma, producer LIEV and arts organisation Shubbak have put together this extensive, open-ended repository of resources for those looking to learn more about the history of Palestine and ways to enact positive change today. The Autism CurveBBC Radio 4 & BBC Sounds, 5 to 9 May With diagnoses for autism rising exponentially, this five-part series provides a fascinating insight into the numbers, examining how widening definitions and greater advocacy have shifted attitudes towards neurodiversity. Ammar Kalia
Irish Times
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Parthenope: Paolo Sorrentino's most leering film since his Berlusconi biopic
Parthenope Director : Paolo Sorrentino Cert : 16 Genre : Drama Starring : Celeste Dalla Porta, Stefania Sandrelli, Gary Oldman, Silvio Orlando, Luisa Ranieri, Peppe Lanzetta, Isabella Ferrari Running Time : 2 hrs 17 mins Much of Paolo Sorrentino's 11th feature is an ode to Naples too many. Following his tremendous Maradona-themed roman a clef The Hand of God , the sluggish Parthenope casts the director's native Napoli – we think – as a beautiful, capricious woman in a bikini. And sometimes not even a bikini. Celeste Dalla Porta's mythologically named title character is meaningfully born in the waters of Posillipo – where her siren namesake lured sailors to their doom – in 1950. Her early years are dominated by a strange throuple between her dishy housekeeper's son and incestuously obsessed brother. Disjointed episodes introduce the American author John Cheever (Gary Oldman), a follically challenged variant of Sophia Loren, and the randy cardinal (Peppe Lanzetta) who presides over the miraculous liquefaction of the blood of Napoli's patron saint, San Gennaro. Even an intellectual relationship – well, a bunch of pithy quips – with her university professor (Silvio Orlando) fails to convince us she is more substantial than a topless version of a manic pixie dream girl: a gliding object for the chaps to ogle and bounce off. READ MORE 'What's your favourite part of a woman's body?' Parthenope asks Lanzetta's prelate during an absurd and pointedly blasphemous seduction sequence: 'Her back. The rest is pornography.' The enigmatic title character is at the centre of every plodding scene, yet Dalla Porta is given scandalously little to do in Sorrentino's most leering film since Lora, his Berlusconi biopic. She covers her ears and ducks out of Italy's briefly glimpsed Years of Lead; she encounters a surreal giant baby and simply keeps gliding. For all these frustrations the Italian auteur crafts several indelible moments. Parthenope meets a charming mobster (Marlon Joubert) who leads her through the slums of Naples in scenes that recall James Joyce's depictions of Monto. She witnesses a wild live sex show during which the young scions of two rival Camorra families attempt to conceive a child. These picaresque and picturesque adventures fail to coalesce into a movie. But it's impossible to argue with Daria D'Antonio's ravishing cinematography and an unexpectedly moving coda featuring Stefania Sandrelli as an older Parthenope.
