Parthenope (2025)
Directed by: Paolo Sorrentino
Premise: Between the 1950s and the 80s, Parthenope (Celeste Dalla Porta) comes-of-age in her home of Naples, Italy.
What Works: Parthenope is difficult to describe not due to flaws in the filmmaking but because the movie is inherently mysterious. The storytelling is relatively straightforward but the movie does not follow a typical narrative structure of a protagonist pursing a goal. It’s more circuitous in a way that’s appropriate to the themes and the tone. Both the film and the title character exist on the border of reality and myth, specifically Greek mythology. Much like Greek myths, Parthenope is a walking metaphor. This is a movie about beauty and the way we react to it. Parthenope is played by Celeste Dalla Porta and she has a captivating screen presence. Some of this is Dalla Porta’s physical beauty which is accented by the filmmaking. The film’s imagery frames Dalla Porta in ways that resemble classical art. Great beauty is often mysterious and indescribable, qualities shared by classical art and Dalla Porta’s screen image. But Parthenope is not just a beautiful woman. She is an intellectual and becomes conscious of herself and the impact that her beauty has on others, especially men. This leads Parthenope to interrogate her own existence. She is flesh and blood but society—specifically men—mythologize women which necessarily flattens them and keeps them at a distance. That tension between the imperfect complexity of reality and the unattainable ideal of beauty runs throughout the film. Parthenope’s intellectual pursuits take her into sacred spaces in which the faithful invoke the ineffable and into profane situations where life and youth are vulgarized. The film ultimately goes beyond carnality or superficial prettiness to expresses a sense of awe and appreciation for the beauty of existence.
What Doesn’t: As a character, Parthenope doesn’t really have any flaws. She never mistreats anyone, generally has the right answers, and is emotionally and morally unflappable. Parthenope does have an indirect role in one character’s death but she doesn’t harbor guilt about it. The picture’s sensual nature belies that Parthenope is more of a cerebral film, invested in ideas and concepts rather than narrative and character. The film is more interesting for what’s happening around Parthenope than for anything that she actually does. The picture concludes on a coda sequence, catching up with the character at retirement age. It’s quite a skip ahead, summarizing Parthenope’s life but without suggesting any kind regret or cynicism that usually accumulates with age.
Bottom Line: Parthenope is a rare film, in many ways contrary to the trends of the zeitgeist and the priorities of the culture. This is a movie to be savored, pondered, and rewatched because it is such a rich, thoughtful, and gorgeously produced piece of work.
Episode: #1084 (January 25, 2026)