The Hand of God
2021 · Directed by Paolo Sorrentino
Original language: Italian
- drama
The story
In 1980s Naples, an awkward teen struggling to find his place experiences heartbreak and liberation after he's inadvertently saved from a freak accident by football legend Diego Maradona.
What it’s like
Warm Neapolitan sunlight pours through sun-bleached balconies and crowded apartment rooms, with Paolo Sorrentino's camera drifting in unhurried glides and lingering on faces, laundry lines, and the glowing blue of a television set. The palette runs on ochre, terracotta, and the sea's pale glare, broken by sudden, dreamlike sequences where the frame goes loose and fantastical. Stadium roars, radio football commentary, and the hum of summer streets sit beside a sparse, wistful score that gives way to near silence at emotional turns. Its vibe is bittersweet and nostalgic, with a tender undercurrent of grief running beneath the bright surface, and it suits a slow Sunday afternoon, a quiet night in, or a reflective rewatch. The pace is loose and episodic, following a shy, grieving teenager as he drifts between family chaos, first longings, and a city that feels both suffocating and alive, and his arc is one of slowly finding his footing after loss. Intensity is moderate: some frank sexual content and nudity, a few sharp bursts of family arguing, and a tragic death handled with restraint rather than gore. It is for viewers who want an intimate, sensual coming-of-age story full of humour, melancholy, and love for a place.
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