Paolo Sorrentino is immersing himself in the land of milk and honey for his latest ode to intangible beauty, “Parthenope.”
Titled after the myth of Greek sirens who lured men to their deaths at sea, “Parthenope” stars Celeste Dalla Porta in the lead role. While the literary legacy of Parthenope had the character drowning herself after her songs failed to seduce Odysseus, Sorrentino’s version centers on a wealthy woman who slowly drives her family insane by her beauty.
The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where A24 acquired it. The distributor describes “Parthenope” as a “monumental and deeply romantic story of a lifetime.”
The official synopsis reads: “Parthenope, born in the sea of Naples in 1950, searches for happiness over the long summers of her youth, falling in love with her home city and its many memorable characters.”
Oscar winner Sorrentino writes and directs the feature, which also stars Gary Oldman, Dario Aita, Silvia Degrandi, Isabella Ferrari, Lorenzo Gleijeses, Biagio Izzo, Marlon Joubert, Peppe Lanzetta, Nello Mascia, Silvio Orlando, Luisa Ranieri, Daniele Rienzo, Stefania Sandrelli, and Alfonso Santagata.
Sorrentino reunites with his “The Hand of God” cinematographer Daria D’antonio.
“Parthenope” is an Italian-French co-production and was shot in both Naples and Capri. It’s a Fremantle film produced by The Apartment Pictures, and Pathé in association with Numero 10, in association with Saint Laurent and PiperFilm. A24 is distributing the feature in North America. Pathé is handling international sales of the film and will also distribute the film in France and Switzerland.
Lorenzo Mieli produced “Parthenope” for The Apartment Pictures, a Fremantle Company, with Anthony Vaccarello for Saint Laurent, director Sorrentino for Numero 10, and Ardavan Safaee for Pathé also producing. Douglas Urbanski is the executive producer.
The IndieWire review placed “Parthenope” within Sorrentino’s filmography. Critic David Ehrlich wrote that once again, Sorrentino “returns with a rapturously sumptuous film that blurs the line between the sacred and the profane until sex feels like religion and religion feels like sex, and once again he’s compelled by the siren’s song of youth and great beauty.”
The review continues, “‘Parthenope,’ which borrows its name from one of the sirens of Greek myth, Sorrentino is unusually preoccupied with the relationship between youth and great beauty. This isn’t the first time that he’s pitted those twin intoxicants against each other, contrasting the ephemeral nature of human lust against the eternal spirit of the poetry, architecture, and deities we create in retaliation to that fact. In ‘Parthenope,’ however, the 53-year-old filmmaker dares to ask whether it’s possible to separate the two. More to the point: He questions whether people are capable of fully appreciating them both at the same time. ‘Parthenope’ is just a long movie made by a middle-aged man who almost drives himself insane trying to imagine what life would be like as an unbelievably hot woman. It’s a mystery that’s taunted male artists for as long as they’ve dreamed of possessing the beauty of their muses, Sorrentino’s efforts to make sense of it feel as anachronistic in 2024 as it might have been to give birth to a sea creature from ancient Greece during the summer of 1950. Then again, some compulsions may be more timeless than we realize.”
“Parthenope” premieres in theaters in Winter 2025. Check out the trailer below.
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