Heir to the style and talent of Federico Fellini, Paolo Sorrentino may need a little more time to consolidate himself, but his consistent and beautiful work already positions him as one of the best narrators of our era, with at least four monumental productions that they acquire the crudeness of Italian society, to transform it into a spiral of emotions and surreal moments that make up “reality”.
Like Fellini, Sorrentino’s art would originate from tragedy, and while Federico and his wife would lose their son, Paolo and his brothers would see their parents die at a very young age in a fortuitous, almost surreal event. This origin is manifested in his last jewel, “It was the hand of God”, where the young Paolo immersed in his duel exclaims “he doesn’t like reality”, making it his enemy and altering it from a rich range of symbolisms and metaphors. that allude to family misfortune, emotional crises and middle-age depressions, without forgetting also an implicit criticism of the hypocrisy of society, the political, artistic and religious spheres, the latter element almost always present in his work and not free of controversy, even carrying out a series that afflicted the Catholic community.
Like Fellini, his protagonists are not heroes, but beings of questionable actions that seek understanding and empathy; Sorrentino likes to explore even the consciousness of these both visually and narratively; from the visual, by embedding various metaphors and excerpts that seem to project the alteration of his reality; from the narrative, when he superbly prosecutes a series of lines of dialogue or as a narrative, where the director-screenwriter uses to add complexity to his tragedy, and how it, either as a cause or consequence of certain acts, drags his character to a profound change of consciousness or ideology Brilliant!
Let’s celebrate Paolo Sorrentino’s 52 years with his 5 Best Films
5 – This Must be the Place (2011)
by El Fett
In a certain way, it is Sorrentino’s “less Sorrentino” film, but even outside his comfort zone, the Italian does not neglect the tragic and complex tone displayed by this kind of road-movie and hunt, in which a finished star Irish rock star, she must travel across America in search of the Nazi agent who humiliated and tortured her recently deceased father. Sorrentino’s game consists of the fact that the relationship between father and son is foreign, so this wandering character will take his search as an excuse to find a new purpose for his life, leaving aside the family redemption that the objective of he could carry. Acid and tragicomic in tone, Sean Penn’s performance is wonderful
4 – Il Divo (2008)
By Bedub
Sorrentino surprises with the story of the politician Giulio Andreotti, a character perhaps unknown to the rest of mortals but who in Italy forged an almost macabre career to obtain and control power. He shows it openly, sometimes with a biting sense of humor but always critical of a decidedly sinister character. Little by little, the director obtains that already known style thanks to the movement of the camera and the photography inside closed noir-type places without becoming entirely part of this genre. Even so, the comparison between politics and the mafia is clearly noticeable without saying it so openly, rather with subtleties and details, which gives an ironic sense to the entire plot that makes us smile even knowing that we are dealing with something sordid.
3 – The Great Beauty (2013)
By Arquicruz
An important fragment of the life of Gep Gambardella, who despite living single life with free rein and moving in the most exclusive circles of high society in modern Rome, has begun to notice that something is missing in his life. But at the same time, the protagonist serves as a guide to see and learn about many almost invisible stories that revolve around him. Throughout the story we see how Gambardella deals with the fact that he has always been in love with the same woman and that despite not feeling like a religious or believing man, there is a concern about his spirituality that he does not know how to deal with. . A very masculine film that shows the qualities and conflicts of men at a time when masculine is cunningly confused with macho.
2 – This is the hand of God (2021)
by El Fett
Sorrentino confirms his status not only as the greatest Italian director in the modern era, but also as the clear preserver of Fellini’s cinema in this strange but rich flirtation of neorealism with surreal elements that turns his personal stories into a delicacy of narrative exquisiteness. With “It was the Hand of God”, Sorrentino undresses in a biopic that invites the viewer to become part of his family, his life and finally his tragedy, for which he would find the vocation to the cinema as an escape from reality, but ironically as a portrait of it. A tender, honest and essential biopic, which we can already classify as one of the best “coming of age” in history (and without black and white in between)
1 – Youth (2016)
by El Fett
A self-criticism of art and its balance with the context of celebrity from all its perspectives (cinema, theater, music, sports and beauty), under the impression of cunning black comedy and drama, unforgiving and cruel in form, but beautiful in its aesthetics , thanks to Sorrentino’s managerial and narrative shelter. Endearing characters and fresh dialogues, and even in a certain way philosophical, the filmmaker surrounds this emotional and artistic study with a compelling naturalness, carrying out a great piece of cinema. The twist of the screw, a shocking moment that serves as the point of arrival of the story, and of departure as soon as the redemption of its protagonist, is an event framed in the history of cinema, full of sensitivity and a duel shared with the audience.
Tags: It was the hand of GodIl DivoLa Grande BellezzaPaolo SorrentinoThis must be the placeYouth