Daria D’Antonio – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

PARTHENOPE – Review by Pam Grady

February 7, 2025February 7, 2025 Pam Grady Celeste Dalla Porta, Daria D’Antonio, gary oldman, Paolo Sorrentino, Parthenope

A coach fit for Cinderella’s ball, floating on a barge across the Bay of Naples, is the first image in Paolo Sorrentino’s latest absurd jewel box. It is 1950 and the coach is to serve as a bed for the baby to be named Parthenope. But while Cinderella is the clear reference, Sleeping Beauty might be more to the point for when the drama jumps ahead 18 years to the Swinging ‘60s, the gorgeous young creature desired my men and women alike resembles nothing so much as a sleepwalker through life. Perhaps the moral of the story is that Sorrentino, whose previous work includes The Great Beauty, The Hand of God and the miniseries “The Young Pope, shouldn’t write for women.

Reviews

THE HAND OF GOD – Review by Diane Carson

November 19, 2021November 21, 2021 Diane Carson Daria D’Antonio, Diego Maradona, netflix, Paolo Sorrentino, The Hand of God

Taking charge of his own story in The Hand of God, director Paolo Sorrentino dramatizes his experiences growing up in 1980s Naples. Through his surrogate, Fabietto, he captures the animated, loving Schisa family. With homages to Fellini’s style and the Italian love of soccer, as embodied by Diego Maradona, this autobiographical film transcends specific events while also honoring them.