'Parthenope' Trailer - Gary Oldman and Celeste Dalla Porta Star in Paolo Sorrentino's Naples Drama

Parthenope trailer and release date — Parthenope (screenshot / A24)

Academy Award-winning director Paolo Sorrentino (The Great Beauty, The Hand of God) returns with Parthenope, a coming-of-age drama exploring the love life of a young woman set against the picturesque backdrop of Naples. The film premiered at the 77th Cannes Film Festival earlier this year and also screened at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and the 38th AFI Fest.

Parthenope stars Celeste Dalla Porta, Stefania Sandrelli, and Gary Oldman.

Release Date

Directed by Paolo Sorrentino, Parthenope opens in select US theaters on February 27, 2025.

Synopsis

Parthenope, born in the sea of Naples in 1950, searches for happiness over the long summers of her youth, falling in love with her city and its many memorable characters. From Academy Award-winning filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino comes a gorgeous and deeply romantic story of a lifetime.

“I wanted to make an epic movie, the epic of a modern hero. And in thinking of a modern hero it came naturally to me that she was a heroine, not a man, for many reasons,” says Sorrentino about the lead of the film in an interview with Variety. “Because I find the journey that women make much more heroic today than the epic and heroic journey of man was in the past. That is, the great journey toward freedom that women have set in motion today but which comes from way back. It’s an epic journey. It’s a journey full of obstacles, full of prejudices. And it’s a very courageous journey that women are making.”

Reviews

David Ehrlich in an IndieWire review gave the film a score of C, writing, “Parthenope is considerably less dreamlike than some of the director’s previous work, but vast stretches of the movie seem to exist in nebulous pockets of non-time, if only because of their weird unreality.”

Gregory Ellwood in a The Playlist review gave the film a B, writing, “Paolo Sorrentino’s last directorial effort, “The Hand of God,” was a love letter to the port city, and, in something of a surprise, he taps that well once again for “Parthenope.”