With ‘Parthenope,’ Paolo Sorrentino Tells the Story of a Woman Named Parthenope

February 6, 2025

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Parthenope being Parthenope (CREDIT: Gianni Fiorito/A24)

Starring: Celeste Della Porta, Stefania Sandrelli, Silvio Orlando, Gary Oldman, Luisa Ranieri, Peppe Lanzetta, Isabella Ferrari, Lorenzo Gleijeses, Daniele Rienzo, Dario Aita, Marlon Joubert, Alfonso Santagata, Biagio Izzo, Paola Calliari, Nello Mascia, Silvia Degrandi, Cristiano Scotto di Galletta

Director: Paolo Sorrentino

Running Time: 136 Minutes

Rating: R for Some Awkward But Intense Sex and a Little Bit of Saucy Language

Release Date: February 7, 2025 (Theaters)

What’s It About?: A baby girl is born in the waters outside a huge villa in 1950s Naples,. An old friend of the family declares that she shall be named Parthenope. You almost get the sense that a new religion is about to form with all the fanfare her arrival attracts. It doesn’t quite work out that way, though her life story does prove to be a bit of a spiritual odyssey. In her young adulthood, everyone is knocked out by her sun-dappled beauty, as she hangs out a bit with a famous drunken American novelist and kind of stumbles into an academic career track in anthropology. That leads her to a beguiling bishop as she investigates the nature of miracles, among other grand adventures in 20th century Italy. As the decades roll along, will the people ever be able to stop talking about Parthenope?

What Made an Impression?: A Life Lived Lavishly: If you’re in the world of Paolo Sorrentino, you can at least expect everything to be beautiful. I was spellbound by his Silvio Berlusconi-inspired film Loro, as well as his transgressive TV work on The Young Pope and The New Pope. He reunites with his Hand of God cinematographer Daria D’Antonio for Parthenope, which is just as much of a visual feast as the rest of the Sorrentino-verse. And I kind of think that this latest release should have been a silent film. The dialogue isn’t terrible or anything like that. On the contrary, it’s occasionally quite witty. But the primary appeal is all those looks that Celeste Della Porta serves (in every sense of that phrase) as the title character. What I’m trying to say is: I wish this movie had been a little more abstract, and a little less literal.
What is Anthropology?: If this movie inspires scores of viewers to become anthropologists themselves, I’ll be a little more than surprised, honestly. Now, I’m no anthropologist, so maybe an expert in the field will have a different take. I did, however, take an introductory anthropology course my freshman year of college, and it didn’t seem anything like what’s on display in Parthenope. Perhaps the field changed significantly in the decades in between, or maybe Europeans (or just Italians) have their own unique methods. Anyway, this is just a preamble to my conclusion that I’m pretty sure that this is supposed to be Paolo Sorrentino’s Anthropology Film. Whatever that means. Because after watching Parthenope, I don’t know what that means.

Parthenope is Recommended If You Like: Italian Anthropology?

Grade: 2.5 out of 5 Anthropology Grades

It’s Worth Heading to Silvio Berlusconi’s Italy If Paolo Sorrentino is the Director

September 19, 2019

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Toni Servillo in Loro

Starring: Toni Servillo, Elena Sofia Ricci, Riccardo Scamarcio, Kasia Smutniak, Euridice Axen, Fabrizio Bentivoglio

Director: Paolo Sorrentino

Running Time: 151 Minutes

Rating: Unrated, But Be Aware of the Molly-Fueled Orgiastic Parties

Release Date: September 20, 2019 (Limited)

If you see a film directed by the Italian Paolo Sorrentino, chances are you’re going to be intoxicated. He’s developed a reputation for lavish, sensuous experiences – non-stop pleasure gardens, if you will. They have the sort of sumptuous vibe that I imagine Silvio Berlusconi wanted to engender while he was prime minister of Italy. So it’s no wonder that Sorrentino has made the ambitiously sprawling Loro, which attempts to capture no less than the essence of the orbit around Berlusconi. Interestingly, but also vitally, the man himself doesn’t show up until about halfway through. Instead, the beginning is a mix of businessman attempting to make power moves in a culture that would much rather have endless poolside orgies to the tune of such classics as Harry Nilsson’s “Jump Into the Fire” and Santigold’s “L.E.S. Artistes.” It’s beautifully, vibrantly shot, almost dangerously so. You practically want to tear off your clothes and jump in yourself.

But then Berlusconi (Toni Servillo*) steps in with his paunchy belly, and the party crashes hard. (*-Servillo also pulls double duty as billionaire businessman Ennio Doris.) As he takes stock of how things didn’t turn out the way he hoped while he ruled over his beloved country, Loro becomes tinged with melancholy, as the promise of hedonism proves, naturally enough, to be less than fulfilling. But a moment of clear-headed reflection would be all wrong for this subject, and that is in fact not what Sorrentino has in mind. The soullessness of the man at the center is clear enough when he says things like, “Altruism is the best way to be selfish.” Loro is an autopsy for the innocence of all involved, but it’s cleansing for viewers if you let yourself go through the whole thing.

Loro is Recommended If You Like: Paolo Sorrentino’s Filmography and TV-ography

Grade: 4 out of 5 Bunga Bungas