The Hand of God

The latest film from Paolo Sorrentino (The Great Beauty) is the story of a young man’s heartbreak and liberation in ‘80s Naples. Fabietto Schisa might be an awkward Italian teen struggling to find his place, but he finds joy in an amazing family who love life, relish mischief and take deep pleasure in meddling in one another’s complicated relationships. Then comes a pair of events that alter everything. ‘The Hand of God is backdropped by azure waters of the Gulf of Naples and a tapestry of extended family life that’s a joy to witness.’ (Time Out)

‘Having given a very important symbolic significance to the fact that I turned 50, I thought: “Maybe I’m old enough to tackle an autobiographical theme, to stop hiding behind characters like the pope, or Jep Gambardella in The Great Beauty and I can face this story head on.” After 20 years of filmmaking I was perhaps a bit tired of the spot I was in. I wanted to start up again. This film, though, is different, it has the same approach as my first film L’Uomo in Più which was very spontaneous, heartfelt, melancholy and painful – but also cheerful – just like this film, even though they are very different.’

Director Paolo Sorrentino, from an interview with Variety.