Italian Cinema Today

Based on his own life growing up in Naples,  Paolo Sorrentino’s latest film, “The Hand of God” (È stata la mano di Dio) recounts the heartbreak and growing pains that shaped the man and filmmaker he is today. The film opens with a stunning coastal aerial shot of Naples at dawn, which leads up to the moment Fabietto Schisa (Filippo Scotti), the main character, develops a teenage infatuation with his voluptuous, unstable Aunt Patrizia ( Luisa Ranieri ). From that point, we are introduced to the eccentric members of his family that undoubtedly gave a young Sorrentino material for his future filmmaking career. The close-ups of a few zany and grotesque characters reflect the visual homages to Federico Fellini that are often present in Sorrentino’s work. He goes a step further in “The Hand of God” to offer an account of Fellini’s first influence on his life and eventual career path. Fabietto’s brother Marchino (Marlon Joubert), an aspiring actor, attends an audition for a Fellini film ...

I'm fascinated by this image from Antonio Capuano’s 2020 “Il buco in testa," which premiered out of competition at the Torino Film Festival. Brava to Antonella Di Martino for her masterful set design and Bravo to Gianluca Laudadio for his cinematography. If the film is as beautiful as the press images, I can’t wait to see it!  According to Luce Cincittà, the film follows Maria who lives nearby the sea within the province of Naples. “She has a precarious job and no love ahead. Her mother is essentially mute. Forty years before, an extreme left-wing activist killed her father, a near-twenty-year old vice-brigadier, during a political rally. Maria was born two months after the killing. One day she found out that the killer had a name, a face and a job; he now lives in Milan after having paid for his murder in prison. “Now I know the person to detest,” thinks Maria. Then, she dyes her hair and takes a high-speed train to get to know him.”  The cast includes Teresa Saponangelo, To...