Paolo Sorrentino is the Oscar winning director of “The Great Beauty”. He also helmed my No. 1 film of 2015, “Youth”, and the excellent 2021 drama “The Hand of God”. If you like Sorrentino, you’re going to love the heartbreaking, honest dialogue he’s known for — once again on full display in his latest movie, “Parthenope”. There’s also gorgeous cinematography and a breathtaking aura.
The title character is a young Italian woman. She was born in 1950. We flash forward to ’68 when she turns 18, and she’s the most beautiful woman in the land. Everyone wants her. Everyone wants to be with her. We’re taken on her incredible adventure, which has some flashy aspects (parties, boyfriends, spending time with family). And then tragedy strikes. She decides to go down a more academic route and becomes friends with a professor — a fantastic storyline and throughline. She has goals she’s out to pursue, while also simply taking-in life.
“Parthenope” is about observing, and what the mesmerizing Celeste Dalla Porta does so well in so many scenes (where she doesn’t say a word) is observe what’s unfolding. I love the fashion / costumes. This is an eccentric film in the ways that “Youth” was, but also has effective family struggle scenes that were key in “The Hand of God”. The music’s great. Gary Oldman has a supporting role early on as an important presence for Parthenope as she begins her journey towards maturity and adulthood.
Sorrentino also has a lot of political and social commentary — about Naples and the time period. He really emphasizes some things in the final 15 minutes (maybe a bit too much), and there are a few raw, disturbing scenes that could’ve been trimmed down. But at no point did I want “Parthenope” to end. I was fully invested in her, her saga, how everything would play out. This is a very high quality movie, with plenty of layers. Not traditional, but definitely in line with Sorrentino’s previous work, and one of the highlights of 2025 so far.
LCJ GRADE: A-
Running Time: 137 min.