Parthenope: A Mythological and Personal Journey

Oscar-winning maestro Paolo Sorrentino’s highly anticipated film, Parthenope (2024), is a lavish visual and emotional epic examining the seductive, contradictory city of Naples. Tracking the life of a mesmerizing protagonist named after the mythological siren believed to have founded the city, the movie spans nearly seventy years of passion, tragedy, sacredness, and profanity. It acts as both a character study of Parthenope (beautifully portrayed by newcomer Celeste Dalla Porta) and the cinematic soul of the city itself.

Sorrentino never strays from his iconic style: the film is highly saturated with virtuosic camerawork, dreamlike symbolism, and piercing existentialist dialogue. The narrative unfolds not as a traditional biography, but as a melancholic ballad mourning the inexorable passage of time, beauty, and youth. Gary Oldman also provides a poignant, memorable cameo as the struggling writer John Cheever.

Premiering in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, "Parthenope" stands as a deeply intimate, albeit occasionally ruthless, cinematic love letter to the director's hometown, solidifying Sorrentino once again as a premier contemporary auteur.