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The Hand of God

È stata la mano di Dio

2021

Paolo Sorrentino

Filippo Scotti, Toni Servillo, Luisa Ranieri, Teresa Saponangelo ...

7.1

15,090

Drama. Comedy The story of a young man’s heartbreak and liberation in Naples, Italy. It’s the 1980s and 17-year old 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. One is the triumphant arrival in Naples of a god-like ... [+]

	Author	Review
United States	David Ehrlich IndieWire	"Paolo Sorrentino’s most personal movie is also his best. (...) An autobiographical coming-of-age story that allows him to reach new heights."	POS
United States	Rodrigo Perez The Playlist	"It’s already difficult to see a scenario where 'Hand Of God' isn’t another Best International Film Oscar winner or at least major contender, it’s that good"	POS
United States	David Rooney The Hollywood Reporter	"[It presents] sumptuous veins of joy and sorrow that feel richer, deeper, more searingly poignant than anything the director has done before"	POS
United Kingdom	Jonathan Romney Screendaily	"The film has a visual expansiveness that truly breathes on the big screen (...) The acting is richly characterful throughout"	POS
United States	Owen Gleiberman Variety	"You wish that [Sorrentino] had portrayed the other characters as he does his surrogate hero. Most of them are presented in a way that’s raucous and overly broad"	NEU
United Kingdom	Xan Brooks The Guardian	"I’m glad that Sorrentino has got this film out of his system. I’m impressed that it’s emerged so full of bawdy vigour; still raw in the retelling and spiced with delicious set pieces (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	Pete Hammond Deadline	"An enormously effective and touching personal memoir (...) 'The Hand Of God' is also a reminder we are also in the hand of one of cinema’s modern masters."	POS
United States	Phil de Semlyen Time Out	"Sorrentino delivers a hauntingly personal memoir of grief, growing up and maverick footballers (...) Often sublime, occasionally frustrating but always evocative and haunting (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	Dan Callahan The Wrap	"Sorrentino serves up his memories in an unappealingly inert and flat manner (...) [He] looks and looks here, but he never truly sees anything"	POS
United Kingdom	Alex Godfrey Empire	"This charmingly odd tribute to Sorrentino's formative years is slighter than it possibly deserves to be, but when it’s this handsome, who cares? Will have you absolutely salivating for Italy (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	William Repass Slant	"Throughout Sorrentino's film, the line between miracle and cosmic prank, even tragedy, is rendered indistinguishable (...) [It] is nothing if not a love letter from Sorrentino to the city of his youth (…) Rating: ★★½ (out of 4)"	POS
United States	Simon Abrams rogerebert.com	"It's about finding character in unexpected places and making it seem both true to life and completely overwhelming (…) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 4)"	POS
United States	Leila Latif AV Club	"Paolo Sorrentino's tribute to family, Italian cinema, and Maradona is sporadically lovely (...) It's the intermittent flashes of brilliance —the hand of God moments— that stay with you"	POS
United States	Abirbhab Maitra Ready Steady Cut	"Sorrentino uses magic realism motifs to depict this conflict of reality and fiction. And with those elements, the film beautifully portrays the growing up in life (...) Filippo Scotti is brilliant (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	Leah Greenblatt Entertainment Weekly	"There are more cohesive movies to be sure, and subtler ones. But 'The Hand of God' doesn't really try too hard to make it all make sense; it's just one boy's dolce vita, drenched in Mediterranean sun, hormones, and salt air"	POS
United States	James Berardinelli ReelViews	"By the time 'È stata la mano di Dio' ends, it's floundering. On the whole, however, this is a charming and at times moving reminder of what it meant to be young in the 1980s (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)"	NEU
United States	Robert Abele Los Angeles Times	"Uneven, occasionally dazzling personal journey (...) Better enjoyed than examined, maybe fouled, hopefully touched, ever beautiful"	NEU
United States	Bilge Ebiri Vulture	"He's trying to get us to notice something almost inexpressible —the weird, gathering sense that the world, for all its horrors, is a marvel worth exploring and revealing (...) Captivating film"	POS
United States	Jenny Nulf Austin Chronicle	"It's a personal, aching, and romantic film that's swimming in the complicated trials of youth (…) (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
Australia	Jake Wilson The Age	"It's fair to say 'È stata la mano di Dio' is far from [Paolo Sorrentino's] best work. It's a typical medley of themes and ideas, swinging from over-the-top romanticism to black, brutal comedy (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"	NEU
United States	Andy Crump Paste Magazine	"The movie takes its time. It watches. It breathes. It captures life with a clarity even Sorrentino’s best efforts haven't quite —which makes it his best effort to date"	POS
United States	Jared Mobarak The Film Stage	"We might still miss Sorrentino's prior, more unforgiving tone, and his sleek filmmaking style; it's arguable this material doesn't mine the best of his strengths"	NEU
United States	John Serba Decider	"An audacious, shameless, vivacious, gorgeous film that draws us into its world, which Sorrentino has filled with life in all its messy wonders"	POS
Ireland	Donald Clarke Irish Times	"Immediately we are confronted with a vulgarity that never entirely dissipates (...) Soothing, funny, occasionally infuriating (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"	NEU

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