Italian distributor Piper Film, Fremantle and Pathé have released the international trailer for Paolo Sorrentino's “Parthenope” ahead of the film's international release after its May screening at the Cannes Film Festival.
He praised it in his review. diverse “Parthenope,” says critic Siddhant Adlakha, “is a love letter to the director’s native Naples. But as Sorrentino says, it is a film about “lost youth” and follows his autobiographical “The Hand of God.”
The film's main character is a young woman born in Naples, Sorrentino's hometown – Neapolitans in Italy are also known as “Parthenopeans” – played by newcomer Celeste Dalla Porta, who “gives a mesmerizing performance,” Adlakha noted, “as a woman of such striking beauty that people stop and stare.”
“It is a moving artistic quest, in which a filmmaker explores, through the story of one woman who finds her inner life—beyond, and through, her beauty—the reasons why he took up the camera in the first place: in pursuit of transformative truths about the way we see the world, and ourselves, which are best revealed through aesthetic discovery,” Adlakha writes.
The cast of “Parthenope” also includes Gary Oldman, who plays American novelist John Cheever; Luisa Ranieri, who played the emotionally troubled Aunt Patrizia in “The Hand of God,” Italian icon Stefania Sandrelli, who was the muse of Bernardo Bertolucci; and Silvio Orlando, who played Cardinal Voiello in “The Young Pope,” among other outstanding talents.
Piper Film plans to release “Parthenope” in Italy using a smart release strategy. The strategy involves a midnight premiere in selected cinemas between September 19 and 25, which will build excitement and allow the film to qualify for the local selection process for the Italian International Oscar nomination. This will be followed by a full theatrical release in Italian cinemas on October 24.
In early May, ahead of its Cannes screening, “Parthenope” was quickly sold out by Pathé worldwide, including A24 for North America, during a 48-hour bidding process. A24 now plans to release the film later this year, while Pathé has set a French release date of Jan. 8, 2025.
“‘Partenope’ now begins its long journey into theaters around the world,” Sorrentino said in a statement to Variety.
“A journey made up of impossible love stories, love stories that were just missed opportunities,” the Oscar-winning director added. “But it is precisely this imperfection that makes life wonderful and youth unforgettable. And against this backdrop, there is Naples, the great love that came true instead.”
“Parthenope” is a Fremantle film co-produced by its The Apartment brand with French company Pathé, in association with Sorrentino’s Numero 10, PiperFilm, Anthony Vaccarello’s Saint Laurent and Logical Content Ventures, with support from Canal+ and participation from Cine+.
