THE HAND OF GOD 15 TBC
Touching drama…
★★★★☆ OUT NOW CINEMAS 15 DECEMBER NETFLIX
After the excesses of his Silvio Berlusconi portrait in Loro (2018), Italian writer-director Paolo Sorrentino returns to form with his most personal work to date. Set in mid-’80s Naples, where the world’s greatest footballer, Diego Maradona, has sensationally signed to play for the city’s topflight team, it’s a bittersweet coming of-age tale, telling the story of sensitive teenager and Sorrentino surrogate Fabietto (the up-andcoming Filippo Scotti). He’s close to both his parents (Toni Servillo and Teresa Saponangelo) and his older brother Marchino (Marlon Joubert), until an unexpected tragedy turns the adolescent’s world upside down.
The title refers to the controversial goal scored by Maradona against England in the ’86 World Cup, celebrated here with communal rapture by Neapolitan residents watching on TV. But it’s also a nod to the twist of fate which does so much to shape the protagonist’s future life.
Within its loose, episodic structure, The Hand Of God offers some brash laughs; there’s fun to be had spending time with Fabietto’s larger-thanlife relatives, friends, neighbours, plus a diverting drop-in on an extras-casting session for a Fellini film. But Sorrentino doesn’t shy away from the rawness and intensity of Fabietto’s feelings, especially in the second half. Visually this is less extravagant than previous Sorrentino films, yet the auteur makes evocative use of an array of locations within and around Naples itself. THE VERDICT Sorrentino pays vivid tribute to his adolescence, blending joy and pain. Scotti delivers a disarming breakout.