Okay, so foreign films are a tricky lot. Many are dubbed in a given language for ease and accessibility. Still, many believe that sometimes something gets lost in translation, as the syntax from one language to another is not always linear, or a language may not even have a particular word in its vocabulary. Given that subtitles are provided, which gives viewers the chance to hear the cast’s actual voices, they’re now tasked with reading at least an hour and a half of dialogue. Does Gen Z have that patience in their TikTok/Snapchat world?
With that said, the Italian film, Parthenope, directed by Paolo Sorrentino (This Must Be the Place 2011, Youth 2015), was released for a limited time in theaters on February 7, 2025, via A24, before arriving on Max in June 2025 for streaming. Starring Celeste Dalla Porta (in her first major feature) as Parthenope Di Sangro, Stefania Sandrelli (The Conformist 1970, Stealing Beauty 1998) as older Parthenope, an unrecognizable Gary Oldman (Bram Stoker’s Dracula 1992, Darkest Hour 2017) as John Cheever, Silvio Orlando (The Yes Man 1991, The Caiman 2006) as Devoto Marotta, Luisa Ranieri (The Prince and the Pirate 2001, Fasten Your Seatbelts 2014) as Greta Cool, Peppe Lanzetta (One Man Up 2001, Spectre 2015) as Cardinal Tesorone, along with Isabella Ferrari (Romanzo di un giovane povero 1995, Distretto di Polizia series) as Flora Malva, amonth others.
On its face, Parthenope might be taken as a biography, with the opening card dated 1950; however, it does follow Parthenope from birth to retirement as she navigates personal and cultural upheaval in post-war Naples. Additionally, the film draws on the very real myth of the siren Parthenope, who, according to legend, gave her name to the city of Naples after her body washed up on shore there.
According to Sorrentino, he described his Parthenope as “neither siren nor myth,” but rather a woman who **embodies the soul of Naples**—its contradictions, its beauty, its pain. So while it is not a biopic or historical account, it is a sort of **emotional autobiography of a city**, told through one woman’s life.
Parthenope’s precociousness, especially for the ’50s…anywhere, much less Naples, where women had strict social roles and less autonomy. She goes so far as to take her professors to task, questioning what anthropology is, which is the subject of the movie through Panthenope’s lens. Pantheope’s beauty is so captivating that everyone has a thing for her, including clergymen and her brother, which does not end well, sending her on a different life mission. This theme of guilt and loss serves as a driving force, one that many can connect with, having lost a friend.
Just by her name, she sets the mythical, the unattainable theme in motion. Her beauty put the exclamation mark at the end of the point. The trauma of her past makes her even more so, because she is still beautiful (her strength and her burden as she does not want to be a character in someone’s drama), but strictly a student of the human psyche, if you will.
Overall, audiences and critics have expressed positive thoughts about Parthenope, and CrypticRock gives it 4.5 out of 5 stars.
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