Celeste Dalla Porta stars in a story about the life of a Neapolitan woman, who is a reflection of the city itself, also featuring Stefania Sandrelli, Gary Oldman and Silvio Orlando.
Grade: C+
Celeste Dalla Porta (left) and Stefania Sandrelli in ‘Parthenope.’ GIANNI FIORITO/CANNES FILM FESTIVA
Parthenope is officially Paolo Sorrentino’s second consecutive paean to his home city of Naples.
While Hand of God was defined by the director’s memories of his youth, that film’s deeply personal nature is drowned in the new feature by ostentation, accentuated by the exquisite crafts and lush visuals.
Unfortunately, the eponymous protagonist–her name is the one originally given to Naples by the Greeks in the 8th century BC–remains distant and unknowable.
Unlike Toni Servillo’s character in The Great Beauty, Sorrentino’s Oscar winning picture of 2013, whose yearning drew us in, Parthenope remains a cipher.
The script is more interested in the enigma of Parthenope than in the loss and disillusionment that had shaped her life.
The film gets off to an enthralling start and also concludes on a resonant note, when the eternally captivating Stefania Sandrelli steps in to play Parthenope in her 70s, returning to Naples after long absence.
The closing image — of her sighing as she rediscovers the fickle euphoria of enchantment while watching a truckload of celebratory soccer fans pass by — in a single instant returns the emotional interiority that has been steadily stripped from the character by
Sorrentino opens with opulence as a golden canopy bed is transported across the Bay of Naples in 1950. It’s a gift from shipping magnate the Commendatore (Alfonso Santagata) to Sasa’ (Lorenzo Gleijeses) and Maggie (Silvia Degrandi), a young couple about to have their second child, who they name Parthenope.
Cut to 1968, with the gorgeus Parthenope (Celeste Dalla Porta) is worshipped by the maid’s son, Sandrino (Dario Aita) and by her older brother, Raimondo (Daniele Rienzo).
In 1973, Raimondo convinces Parthenope and Sandrino to accompany him to Capri. Raimondo pursues his leasures while Sandrino gazes at Parthenope as she swats off suitors.
A wealthy playboy sends invitations down to her from his helicopter, but Parthenope puts him off by admitting she would only sleep with him as a courtesy. “Desire is a mystery and sex is its funeral,” she tells him.
Their island idyll is cut short by tragedy, which coincides with cholera outbreak.
Sorrentino has a gift for arresting images, but it’s also around this point that the film starts to lose focus, with its visual flourishes distracting.
At university, Parthenope becomes a student defined by both knowledge and curiosity. She earns the respect of irritable anthropology professor Devoto Marotta (Silvio Orlando), who encourages her ambitions to work in academia.
Parthenope then explores the idea of a movie career, consulting acting coach Flora Malva (Isabella Ferrari). In the process, she encounters a famous diva, Greta Cool (Luisa Ranieri), who returns to Naples as an honored guest and then proceeds to trash the city.
The interludes are meant to have cumulative impact on Parthenope’s education, but, they don’t add up to any coherent portraiture, and the feature quickly deteriorates into what could be described as glossy fetishization.
Cinematographer Daria D’Antonio, who also shot Hand of God, serves up sumptuous compositions, and the elegant camerawork makes u for the story’s shortcomings only up to a point in celebrating Naples in all its splendid glory.
When the narrative skips forward by 30 years to reveal where life has taken Parthenope, her story acquires some poignancy, but, at that point, it is too late for viewers to engage.
Credits:
Cannes Film Fest 2024 (Main Competition)
Cast:
Celeste Dalla Porta, Stefania Sandrelli, Gary Oldman, Silvio Orlando, Daniele Rienzo, Dario Aita, Isabella Ferrari, Luisa Ranieri, Peppe Lanzetta, Marlon Joubert, Silvia Degrandi, Lorenzo Gleijeses, Biagio Izzo, Nello Mascia, Alfonso Santagata
Parthenope: Sorrentino’s Disappointing Follow-Up to his Oscar-Nominated “The Hand of God,” Lavish Tribute to his Home City (Cannes Film Fest 2024)
Sorrentino’s Baroque Tribute to his Missed Youth
Celeste Dalla Porta stars in a story about the life of a Neapolitan woman, who is a reflection of the city itself, also featuring Stefania Sandrelli, Gary Oldman and Silvio Orlando.
Grade: C+
Parthenope is officially Paolo Sorrentino’s second consecutive paean to his home city of Naples.
While Hand of God was defined by the director’s memories of his youth, that film’s deeply personal nature is drowned in the new feature by ostentation, accentuated by the exquisite crafts and lush visuals.
Unfortunately, the eponymous protagonist–her name is the one originally given to Naples by the Greeks in the 8th century BC–remains distant and unknowable.
The script is more interested in the enigma of Parthenope than in the loss and disillusionment that had shaped her life.
The closing image — of her sighing as she rediscovers the fickle euphoria of enchantment while watching a truckload of celebratory soccer fans pass by — in a single instant returns the emotional interiority that has been steadily stripped from the character by
Cut to 1968, with the gorgeus Parthenope (Celeste Dalla Porta) is worshipped by the maid’s son, Sandrino (Dario Aita) and by her older brother, Raimondo (Daniele Rienzo).
A wealthy playboy sends invitations down to her from his helicopter, but Parthenope puts him off by admitting she would only sleep with him as a courtesy. “Desire is a mystery and sex is its funeral,” she tells him.
Their island idyll is cut short by tragedy, which coincides with cholera outbreak.
Sorrentino has a gift for arresting images, but it’s also around this point that the film starts to lose focus, with its visual flourishes distracting.
At university, Parthenope becomes a student defined by both knowledge and curiosity. She earns the respect of irritable anthropology professor Devoto Marotta (Silvio Orlando), who encourages her ambitions to work in academia.
The interludes are meant to have cumulative impact on Parthenope’s education, but, they don’t add up to any coherent portraiture, and the feature quickly deteriorates into what could be described as glossy fetishization.
Credits:
Cannes Film Fest 2024 (Main Competition)
Cast:
Celeste Dalla Porta, Stefania Sandrelli, Gary Oldman, Silvio Orlando, Daniele Rienzo, Dario Aita, Isabella Ferrari, Luisa Ranieri, Peppe Lanzetta, Marlon Joubert, Silvia Degrandi, Lorenzo Gleijeses, Biagio Izzo, Nello Mascia, Alfonso Santagata
Director-screenwriter: Paolo Sorrentino
Running time: 136 minutes