Going home has been a common theme for filmmakers over the past few years. Alfonso Cuaron revisited his childhood in Mexico City with “Roma.” Kenneth Branagh has done the same with his appropriately titled Oscar contender “Belfast.” And now, Paolo Sorrentino has given his birthplace, Naples, Italy, the same treatment in “The Hand of God,” Italy’s submission for the International Film Oscar. Speak to Sorrentino, however, and it’s clear how difficult it was for him to tackle this subject matter.
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Set in the mid-’80s, “God” finds newcomer Filippo Scotti portraying Sorrentino in his late teens when he faces a shocking tragedy that turns both his and his siblings’ world upside down. The film has a lot to say about destiny, pain, and family, but it’s also a love letter to his Neopolatian roots. And, as we discover in a new Netflix featurette titled “Through the Eyes of Sorrentino”—exclusively provided to The Playlist—the Academy Award-winning auteur filmed many of “God’s” scenes in the same locations he walked and lived in for most of his upbringing.
Studio featurettes during awards season are nothing new, but this one pops because of how seemingly uncomfortable Sorrentino appears revisiting his past. It’s not embarrassment, in fact, he’s quite proud of Naples. Instead, It’s the lingering memories of a place he said goodbye to 37 years ago.
You can watch the featurette below:
“The Hand of God” is now in limited release. It’s available on Netflix worldwide on Dec. 15.