Every movie from Italian auteur Paolo Sorrentino can be called personal, reflecting some aspect of his life or personality. But nothing strikes closer to the filmmaker than his latest, The Hand of God, a coming-of-age film that reflects all of his many loves and pet themes: love, sex, spirituality, family, and soccer. Boy, does soccer play a role in a way that is completely unexpected.
The film stars Filippo Scotti, along with The Great Beauty lead Toni Servillo, Teresa Saponangelo, Marlon Joubert, Luisa Ranieri, Renato Carpentieri, Massimiliano Gallo, Betti Pedrazzi, Biagio Manna, Ciro Capano, Enzo Decaro, Lino Musella, and Sofya Gershevich. Tragedy, humor, and an ironic twist of fate involving football star Diego Maradona all mix to create a vivid portrait of Sorrentino’s childhood in Naples.
The Hand of God debuted to critical acclaim at Venice earlier this year, and also played extremely well at Telluride and Middleburg, which is where I saw it and also raved about it. There’s no question that it’s Italy’s submission for the international awards at the Oscars.
Netflix will release The Hand of God into theaters on December 3rd, followed by streaming on December 15th.
From Academy Award-winning writer and director Paolo Sorrentino (The Great Beauty), comes the story of a young man’s heartbreak and liberation in 1980s Naples, Italy. The Hand of God follows Fabietto Schisa, an awkward Italian teen whose life and vibrant, eccentric family are suddenly upended—first by the electrifying arrival of soccer legend Diego Maradona and then by a shocking accident from which Maradona inadvertently saves Fabietto, setting his future in motion. Sorrentino returns to his hometown to tell his most personal story, a tale of fate and family, sports and cinema, love and loss.
