The Hand of God () is a 2021 Italian semi-autobiographical drama film written, directed, and produced by Paolo Sorrentino. Set in Naples, the film delves into Sorrentino's own youth. Its cast features Filippo Scotti, Toni Servillo, Teresa Saponangelo, Marlon Joubert, Luisa Ranieri, Renato Carpentieri, Massimiliano Gallo, Betti Pedrazzi, Enzo Decaro, Sofya Gershevich, Lino Musella, and Biagio Manna.

At the 78th Venice International Film Festival, it competed for the Golden Lion, winning the Grand Jury Prize; Scotti's performance earned him the Marcello Mastroianni Award. After a limited theatrical release on 24 November 2021, the film became available for streaming on Netflix on 15 December 2021. It received a nomination for Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards.

Plot In 1984 Naples, Fabietto Schisa enjoys a carefree adolescence with his close-knit family amidst eccentric relatives and friends. Their peace is shattered when his mother Maria's sister, Patrizia, faces abuse from her husband; his brother Marchino's acting dreams falter after a failed audition with Federico Fellini; and Maria discovers Saverio's infidelity.

Amid this turmoil, Napoli's acquisition of Diego Maradona brings hope and joy, especially for Fabietto, who finds solace in Maradona. Saverio and Maria reconcile, buying a villa in Roccaraso for family vacations. They invite Fabietto for a weekend getaway, but he declines to attend a Napoli-Empoli match.

Saverio and Maria die from a carbon monoxide leak at the villa. The loss devastates the Schisa siblings, especially Fabietto, who is not allowed to see his parents' bodies. He grapples with survivor's guilt but also gains a new perspective from his uncle Alfredo's belief that he was saved by "the hand of God". In his grief and confusion, Fabietto searches for meaning and direction.

Meanwhile, Patrizia is hospitalized in a psychiatric facility. During Fabietto's visit, she shares her story: she became miraculously pregnant after an encounter with Saint Gennaro and the "munaciello", but her husband's subsequent abuse led to a miscarriage. Feeling trapped, she chose hospitalization as an escape. This sparks Fabietto's desire to move to Rome. He has his first sexual encounter with an elderly neighbor, Baroness Focale, who empathizes with his struggles. He also befriends Armando, a smuggler, delving into the world of Neapolitan crime.

Fascinated by cinematography, inspired by film and by Yulia, an actress he meets at a street shoot in Naples, Fabietto dreams of studying it. Meanwhile, his relationships with Marchino and his sister Daniela sour: Marchino avoids the future, preferring to party, and Daniela reveals the existence of a boy born to a colleague with whom their father had a long affair. During a theatre performance by Yulia, director Antonio Capuano harshly criticizes her from the audience. Afterward, Fabietto discusses with Capuano his desire to study cinema in Rome, but Capuano sees it as an attempt to escape pain and advises Fabietto not to flee Naples but to embrace its stories.

Meanwhile, Napoli wins its first league title. Fabietto decides to go to Rome. On the train journey, he sees a "munaciello" at a desolate station, echoing his parents' affectionate whistle.

Cast

Production In July 2020, it was announced that Paolo Sorrentino would write, direct, and produce the film, with Netflix attached to distribute. Sorrentino spent years gathering memories about his family, friends, and parents before writing the screenplay. Despite the extensive preparation, he wrote the script in just two weeks. That same month, a lawyer for Diego Maradona said he was considering legal action against the film for its title, as it was a reference to Maradona's 1986 FIFA World Cup goal against England, and use of Maradona's image was not authorized. Netflix responded that the film was not a sports film or about Maradona, and instead a personal story inspired by Sorrentino's youth. In September 2020, Toni Servillo joined the film's cast, and principal photography began in Naples that month.

Release

The Hand of God had its world premiere at the 78th Venice International Film Festival on 2 September 2021. It became available worldwide on Netflix on 15 December 2021.

Reception Critical response The film was mostly well received by critics. In The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw awarded the film four stars out of five, calling it an "extravagantly personal" film and saying it would be "obtuse not to marvel at the exuberance, energy and vivid moment-by-moment immediacy of this movie". The Independent also awarded the film four stars out of five. RogerEbert.com called the film quintessential Sorrentino, writing, "it's about finding character in unexpected places and making it seem both true to life and completely overwhelming" and praising Daria D'Antonio's cinematography. In The New York Times, A. O. Scott called the film "sensual, sad and occasionally sublime". Like many critics, he saw similarities between Sorrentino and Federico Fellini, writing, "if The Great Beauty, an Oscar winner in 2014, can be called Sorrentino’s La Dolce Vita, then this is his Amarcord" and "It’s a beautiful tautology: a true-to-life movie about a life made for movies." Filmmaker David O. Russell praised the film, saying, "If the best movies are graced by something divine as well as profane, this film may prove that there is a God, who does indeed work in very mysterious ways."

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 83% based on 156 reviews, with an average rating of 7.3/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Although The Hand of God isn't Sorrentino's best work, this beautifully filmed coming-of-age story sings in a beguiling, albeit minor, key." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 76 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

Accolades

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) ResultAcademy Awards27 March 2022Best International Feature FilmItaly AARP Movies for Grownups Awards18 March 2022Best Foreign Language FilmThe Hand of God BAFTA Awards13 March 2022Best Film Not In the English LanguageThe Hand of GodBest CastingAnnamaria SambuccoBlack Film Critics Circle Awards22 December 2021Best Foreign Language FilmThe Hand of God Capri Hollywood International Film Festival4 January 2022Best International FeatureThe Hand of God Best Director Paolo Sorrentino Breakout Actor of the Year Filippo Scotti European Feature Film of the Year The Hand of God European Director of the Year Paolo Sorrentino European Producer of the Year Lorenzo Mieli Italian Actor of the Year Toni Servillo Italian Actress of the Year Teresa Saponangelo Casting Society of America17 March 2022Outstanding Achievement in Casting - Studio or Independent DramaAnnamaria Sambucco Critics Choice Movie Awards13 March 2022Best Foreign Language FilmThe Hand of God Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association20 December 2021Best Foreign Language FilmThe Hand of God David di Donatello3 May 2022Best FilmThe Hand of God Best DirectorPaolo SorrentinoBest Original ScreenplayPaolo SorrentinoBest ProducerPaolo Sorrentino & Lorenzo MieliBest Actor in a Leading RoleFilippo ScottiBest Supporting ActressTeresa SaponangeloLuisa RanieriBest Supporting ActorToni ServilloBest CinematographyDaria D'AntonioBest CostumesMariano TufanoBest EditingCristiano TravaglioliBest Production DesignIole Autero & Carmine Guarino Best Make-UpVincenzo MastrantonioBest SoundThe Hand of GodBest Visual EffectsRodolfo MigliariDavid Youth AwardThe Hand of GodDublin Film Critics' Circle21 December 2021Best CinematographyDaria D'Antonio European Film Awards 11 December 2021 Best FilmThe Hand of God Best Director Paolo Sorrentino Best Screenplay Paolo Sorrentino Florida Film Critics Circle Awards22 December 2021Best Foreign Language FilmThe Hand of God Georgia Film Critics Association14 January 2022Best Foreign Language FilmThe Hand of God Golden Globe Awards9 January 2022Best Foreign Language FilmThe Hand of GodGolden Reel Awards13 March 2022Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Foreign Language FeatureSilvia Moraes Goya Awards 11 February 2023 Best European Film The Hand of God Hawaii Film Critics Society14 January 2022Best Foreign Language FilmThe Hand of God International Cinephile Society6 February 2022Best Breakthrough PerformanceFilippo Scotti Kansas City Film Critics Association16 January 2022Best Foreign Language FilmThe Hand of God London Film Critics' Circle6 February 2022Best Foreign Language FilmThe Hand of God London Film Festival17 October 2021Best FilmPaolo Sorrentino Middleburg Film Festival21 October 2021International Spotlight AwardPaolo Sorrentino Mill Valley Film Festival17 October 2021Festival AwardPaolo Sorrentino & Filippo Scotti Music City Film Critics Association25 January 2022Best International FilmThe Hand of God Newport Beach Film Festival28 October 2021Best International FilmPaolo Sorrentino North American Film Critic Association6 February 2022Best CinematographyDaria D'AntonioBest Foreign FilmThe Hand of GodNorth Dakota Film Society Awards17 January 2022Best International FeatureThe Hand of God Palm Springs International Film Festival28 October 2021Best Foreign Language FilmPaolo Sorrentino Phoenix Critics Circle18 December 2021Best Foreign Language FilmThe Hand of God Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards18 December 2021Best Foreign Language FilmThe Hand of God Robert Awards 6 February 2022 Best Non-English Language Film The Hand of God Satellite Awards 2 April 2022 Best Foreign Language Film The Hand of God Seattle Film Critics Society 17 January 2022 Best Foreign Language Film The Hand of God Set Decorators Society of America 22 February 2022 Best Achievement in Decor/Design of a Feature Film - Contemporary Iole Autero & Carmine Guarino South African Online Film Critics 29 December 2021 Best International Feature Film The Hand of God St. Louis Film Critics Association Awards 19 December 2021 Best International Film The Hand of God Sydney Film Festival 15 November 2021 Best Film Paolo Sorrentino Turkish Film Critics Association17 January 2022 Best Streaming Film The Hand of God Venice Film Festival11 September 2021 Golden Lion Paolo Sorrentino Grand Jury Prize Paolo Sorrentino Marcello Mastroianni AwardFilippo Scotti Pasinetti Award for Best Film Paolo Sorrentino Pasinetti Award for Best Actress Teresa Saponangelo

See also List of submissions to the 94th Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film List of Italian submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film

Notes

References

External links

Official screenplay (English) Official screenplay (Italian)