Parthenope
Film
8 p.m.
Paolo Sorrentino (The Great Beauty) returns to Naples, the city of his birth, for this languorous, swooningly romantic chronicle of the eponymous Parthenope (Celeste Dalla Porta in her feature debut), born in 1950 and named after a siren in Homer’s Odyssey whose death is associated with the foundation of the Greek city that preceded modern-day Naples.
With his signature visual élan, Sorrentino traces his heroine’s quixotic life from idyllic childhood to the present day, introducing us to a delightful rogue’s gallery of colourful grotesques along the way, including a memorable interlude on the island of Capri with a melancholic American writer (Gary Oldman).
Parthenope’s early academic prowess is undermined by a life-long search for spiritual happiness; she must navigate complex relationships with the various men in her life, including an intense, troubling bond with her brother Raimondo (Daniele Rienzo).
Dir | Paolo Sorrentino |137 mins | Italy-France|2024
Film screenings are subject to confirmation / change
Parthenope” is nothing if not a sumptuous feast for the senses Roger EbertSee What's On
