In 2024, Paolo Sorrentino, a master of cinema as a form of poetic expression, presented his new film to the world – Parthenope. This cinematic work is a meditation, a tender and profound reflection on time, femininity, coming of age, and a melancholy diffused in the sunlight of Naples. The story begins with the birth of Parthenope di Sangro in 1950 – her name, like an echo of an ancient myth, refers to the siren who, according to legend, founded the city of Naples. And the heroine herself becomes a symbol, a reflection of the city itself – its mystery, its music.

Celeste Dalla Porta as the young Parthenope

We follow her life as if watching the change of seasons. The summer of 1973 is a time of awakenings and revelations, which she spends on Capri – a magical place where sunlit ripples on the sea resemble memories, and her encounter with the enigmatic American writer John Cheever seems to open a door into another world – one of literature, sorrow, and desire. Then in 2023, Parthenope returns to Naples – gray-haired, silent, wise – to reunite with her former self, with those who have departed, with shadows left in alleyways and old photographs.

The role of young Parthenope is portrayed by Celeste Dalla Porta – her on-screen presence is as pure as morning light. Stefania Sandrelli plays the older heroine, giving her a fragile resilience and majestic dignity. Gary Oldman transforms into Cheever – a shadow of a man, an observer, an inspirer, perhaps even a ghostly love. Around them unfolds a gallery of vivid characters – Professor Devoto, Greta, Flora, Cardinal Tesorone, and her brother Raimondo – each like a figure on a fresco, faded by time but never losing its meaning. Filming took place in Naples and on Capri – locations that function not merely as backdrops but as living characters themselves, breathing, crying, laughing. Cinematographer Daria D’Antonio creates not just images, but paintings — where light flows like music and every silhouette and reflection is steeped in metaphor. Both music and silence carry equal weight in this world. The film’s world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival concluded with a nine-minute standing ovation – and it was well deserved.

Celeste Dalla Porta and Gary Oldman

Critics, however, responded to Parthenope with mixed feelings. Some, like Peter Bradshaw, compared it to a “two-hour perfume commercial” – perhaps missing the point that this is exactly where its allure lies. Others, like Éric Neuhoff of Le Figaro, admitted they were struck: “Suddenly – beauty. It hits you like lightning.” And perhaps those words contain more truth than any rational review. The film competed in the main competition at Cannes and received the CST Award for Best Cinematography. With a budget of €32.6 million, it grossed $11.6 million – not a box office triumph, but can poetry really be measured in money?

Parthenope is not a film to simply be watched. It cannot be explained – it must be felt. It lingers long after the final credits, continuing to echo somewhere inside you, like a delicate melody, like the scent left on your wrist after the touch of a stranger.