The Hand of God (2021)

A brilliant piece of filmmaking that totally took my breath away. This feels a lot personal because it is. Sorrentino created this film with an enormous love and you just feel it. His use of camara is outstanding, applying a lot of different techniques to give us some really beautiful shots and scenes, all of them unforgettable.

The first hour is magic. I laughed more than in most comedies I've seen. I was totally in awe with all those fascinating and lively characters. Everything feel so alive, so real. The sense of community is palpable.

The second hour is emotionally brutal. Sorrentino doesn't want to stay for a long time on overdramatic scenes. Just the necessary to tell his story. But he does it through powerful images and with a lot to say.

Even if this film is personal to the director, I believe this will feel familiar to a lot of us and that is the beauty of the cinema: a personal individual story can touch many people. Great homage to Napoli and cinema in a fantastic coming of age film.

Fmovies: It was a nice movie, but personally I didn't enjoy it that much. Felt a little too vague and 'in the moment'. I get that this is more of a 'feeling' movie that doesn't need to make sense all the time. But I like my movies with a bit of clarity.

5/10: ye ok, but nah.

It's a very very good movie and in fact i wanted more, The Hand Of God is a very great intimate representation of Paolo Sorrentino's life, it's strongly perform, it's beautifully well shot and composed, and it's a really well written story, The Hand Of God is a personal movie, but it's a very good one that everybody must go to see it.

The Hand of God fmovies. You are free, always remember that.

With the title that is the name of Maradona's notorious goal, it's a beautiful coming-of-age story about a young boy's family and trauma that led him to pursue his love for cinema and soccer. The first half showed the boy's family and relatives who are dynamic and fun but not without their own problems. The boy's parents were definitely likable, as their relationship was adorable. There were also many interesting figures that inspired and affected the main boy in different ways.

In addition to the people, the movie also portrayed Naples with such beauty and freshness. People jumping into the sea and had fun with their lives, and I slowly became infatuated with the place.

As I kept thinking about what I saw during the movie, I realized that this had to be an autobiography. The genuine, ugly and beautiful, interactions between characters felt personal. As the director said in the 8-minute special about the movie, Naples represented both joy and pain to him. There was one scene near the end that was a passionate discussion between the main boy and a famous movie director, and it both confirmed my thought and made me understand the director a whole lot more.

Overall, it's a calm and sometimes seemingly fantastical tale, but still beautiful and powerful. 8.5-9/10.

Un film fantastico, non solo eccezionalmente recitato (visti gli attori) ma anche una rappresentazione caricaturale ma perfetta di Napoli, dei napoletani e di tutto ciò che si respira in quella città. Triste, tristissimo in certe parti ma anche spiritoso. Maradona c'entra fino a un certo punto ma anche questo contribuisce alla descrizione della napoletanità. Un capolavoro, eccezionale anche Carpentieri, oltre ovviamente al genio Servillo. Colonna sonora finale da pelle d'oca, mentre scorrono le immagini di Napoli. Un capolavoro.

Paolo Sorrentino's autobiographical picture follows the filmmaker's stand-in Fabietto (Filippo Scotti) as an introverted teenager in 80s era Naples. His father Saverio (the great Toni Servillo) and Mother Maria (Teresa Saponangelo; quite engaging) live a comfortable life with their other son Marchino (Marlon Joubert). There is also an extended family of colorful relatives and circle of friends. Fabietto can't help but be mesmerized by his bodacious and extroverted aunt Patrizia (Luisa Ranieri).

Sorrentino has never made a secret about his admiration for Federico Fellini and the first half of the picture is clearly designed with the Maestro's masterpiece AMARCORD in mind. Instead of the rise of Mussolini as a backdrop that ties the vignettes together, here it's the arrival of soccer great Diego Maradona who signs with Napoli and becomes a local legend (the title is in reference to his most famous play). It's when things get more serious in the second half where one sees what inspired Sorrentino to tell such a personal tale. Fabietto is faced with having to truly grow up - and, in a hurry. To decide what his future may be. The anecdotes and episodes continue to be serio-comic and filled with often over the top details. It's very much in the vein of Fellini's early classic, I VITELLONI.

Actor Scotti does very well in trying to channel Sorrentino's alter-ego. He has a natural presence and he does what he can to give the viewer a reason to care about his life. Still, Sorrentino's screenplay never quite unites all of its various threads into a cohesive narrative. We only see snippets of Fabietto's interest in cinema. Not only is Fellini mentioned, but so are other major Directors of Italian cinema such as Franco Zefferelli and Sergio Leone. But, it is local Neapolitan filmmaker Antonio Capuano (played by Ciro Capano) who gives young Fabietto some important but stern advice (Capano became a mentor to Sorrentino). It's a strong sequence, but, far too little and too late in the proceedings to anchor the movie. Just because a film is 'from the heart' doesn't mean it translates well to the screen. One has to invite in the viewer. Here, far too much of it plays like Sorrentino's personal notebook. It's vividly produced with some very fine cinematography by Daria D'Antonio and it has a lively cast, but, it never truly sings. HAND OF GOD gives the viewer some insight into Sorrentino's past, but, it never quite fully connects.