Sorrentino, Parthenope: the mystery of Naples and the charm of youth

Like a mermaid, Parthenope was born in the sea. She has the charm and enchantment of a mermaid: an enchantment that is destined to become disenchantment, that pierces the heart, an incomprehensible and unforgettable mystery that remains intact only when it is far away. Paolo Sorrentino brings to the screen an epic tale of youth and the magic of passing time that transforms the mythical, imperfect age of youth into the moral, ethical maturation of an adult. Naples in the background is the " great love affair".

Parthenope, presented in competition at Cannes, was theatrically released on October 24 with PiperFilm, following a week of previews from September 19 to 25 with a single midnight screening: an unprecedented event that recorded 4,000 admissions in 14 theatres on the first evening alone- about 300 spectators per theatre - and the highest average screen numbers (about 18,000): data that immediately propelled Sorrentino's film into the Box Office Top Ten.

The main character - played by newcomer Celeste Dalla Porta (and later by Stefania Sandrelli) - was born in 1950 in the waters of the Gulf of Naples, at Palazzo Donn'Anna a Mergellina, and lives through salient moments in contemporary Neapolitan history: the youth protests, cholera outbreak, earthquake, the city celebrating the Napoli championship. “Sorrentino told me to look for freedom in every scene, we worked a lot in this direction”, said the young actress, whose scenic gaze stares repeatedly at the viewer, connecting the audience to the painful and dizzying seduction of the ‘not-yet’.

The passing of time and the passage to adulthood

There is no regret, nostalgia, nor melancholy in the film, Sorrentino states, only the passage of time with the inevitable changes that brings. "The truth does not belong to the young, it is not part of their being. Youth is a place where you have to deal with insincerity. Where you dance alone, where the story of the self is always epic. As you grow, you experiment, you change. What you are each time is not always pleasing. Then, at some point, you become an adult, you move on, to an ethical life, to responsibilities. At that point the only possibility is to be amazed, once again".

A film that tackles mystery: women and Naples

This film is not a love letter: "unfortunately I have never been able to write love letters", admits Sorrentino. "It came from the desire to explore certain mysteries: one being women, the other Naples. I thought it would be interesting to harmonize my feminine side with the passing of time. When talking of the subject I noticed that men activated all their infantilism, behaving as if it were not true, as if it were nothing. I felt much more in tune with women and their approach to the subject".

Naples, a city, a world, is shown in iconic and disconcerting images of methods of transport: the phosphorescent blue ship used by fans to celebrate the championship; the disinfestation truck used during the 1973 cholera epidemic; the majestic, Baroque horse-drawn carriage in a funeral procession; the garbage truck modelled after those that drove around the city in the Seventies; the carriage given as a gift to new-born Parthenope, "a symbol of a journey that we can make even when standing still. Which, actually, is what most Neapolitans do, they travel within Naples. For them everything central and decisive in life happens in Naples”.

The cast of Parthenope: from Stefania Sandrelli to Gary Oldman

Stefania Sandrelli plays adult Parthenope: a woman who still expects to experience shivers, to be amazed. "She has behaved well for so many years, she thinks she deserves it. Then she understands that even though she has progressed over the years, especially in her self-knowledge, life looks elsewhere, it’s not looking at her".

Gary Oldman has the role of John Cheever, an American writer lost in alcohol and worry, incapable of giving or intercepting attention. "Sorrentino has a unique ability to tell stories and to render his stories in images”, says the actor.  “There is always a great spirit, humour and humanity in his films. I told everyone that I wanted to work with him. The encounter with my character was wonderful, as was that with the sense of time". In one scene, the writer tells Parthenope 'I don't want to steal your youth'. The two souls meet at a precise point, where one is looking back on life and the other forward.

Gary Oldman and his relationship with Italy:

Isabella Ferrari, as the bitter agent Flora Malva, terrified by old age, talks about "the freedom of wearing a mask that allows me to escape from aesthetics. It was emotional to feel the enormous loneliness of this woman. For me it was a challenging role. ‘Beauty’ - which launched me into cinema as a girl - has accompanied me like a prejudice throughout my life, it has caused me resentment, I have tried to be if not intelligent, at least interesting".

Locations of Parthenope

Paolo Sorrentino's new film, shot principally in Capri and Naples, is about the long-life journey of the beautiful Parthenope, from her birth in 1950 to the present day. Locations included: the centre of Naples; Via San Carlo; Santa Lucia; lungomare Caracciolo and lungomare di via Partenope, between the beach of the Rotonda Diaz and Castel dell'Ovo; Università Federico II campus; the Certosa di San Martino.

A closed ten week set that brought Naples €6 million, in location fees to the Municipality, accommodation for cast and crew, compensation for local workers. The production also paid for extra waste collection, for agents to prevent access by the curious, and for the removal of graffiti from the rock of Rotonda Diaz and the colonnade of the Galleria Umberto.

The set in Naples includes a phosphorescent blue ship, the same used by fans to celebrate the 2023 championship, which heads towards Borgo Marinari and Castel dell’Ovo in a night scene; and a disinfestation truck used at the time of the cholera epidemic in 1973, stationary in the city centre.

In addition to Naples, locations include Capri, setting for a child’s perfect, carefree summer, featuring the spectacular Faraglioni, seen from the Giardini di Agusto, and the island coastline, including the beach of the Punta Carena lighthouse in Anacapri. Some alleys of historic Naples were created in Genoa. For the interiors, the director chose a house in Posillipo.

• See all the film's locations

Marché du Film in Cannes: record sales

Following the announcement of the sale of the theatrical rights in America, where it will be released by A24, Parthenope sold in key territories such as the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Scandinavia, South Korea. Pathè will handle distribution in France and Switzerland. Further distribution deals are expected for the remaining territories, including Greece, Japan, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and Australia.