Paolo Sorrentino has killed it as we call in his latest Netflix release, ‘The Hand Of God‘. Paolo is one of the most influential and creative directors of Italian cinema since his first release in 2013. The new release is a venture which explores all the trauma, heartbreak, and strain of adulthood, a boy has to suffer in his growing years. The film is a true masterpiece in a visual sense.
To re-live the same art of Italian Cinema, below are a few films you can watch if you liked ‘The Hand Of God‘.
1. Almost Famous (2000)
Director- Cameron Crowe
Set in 1973, it follows William, a 15-year-old music aficionado who is inspired by the iconic bands of the day. As he grows up in a hilarious and often sad way. Despite his protective mother’s objections, William embarks on an eye-opening journey with the band’s tour after his love of music. That lands him an assignment from Rolling Stone magazine to interview the up-and-coming band Stillwater — fronted by lead guitarist Russell Hammond and lead singer Jeff Bebe.
2. Cinema Paradiso (1988)
Director- Giuseppe Tornatore
Salvatore “Tot” Di Vita, a fatherless eight-year-old kid from the little village of Giancaldo in post-World War II Sicily, befriends Alfredo. He is the veteran projectionist of the local Cinema Paradiso and gets a mentor and the father he never had. Even though the village priest, Father Adelfio, never misses an opportunity to censor films. The wide-eyed boy becomes enchanted by the dazzling world of the movies. He is growing up with the everlasting characters of Akira Kurosawa, Jean Renoir, John Wayne, Charles Chaplin, and everything in between. The exposure leads to his vivid dreams beginning to take shape. However, the death of a loved one compels silver-haired Salvatore, now a successful film director, to reunite with his old city and his faded, celluloid-scented childhood memories after a thirty-year absence.
3. Malena (2000)
Director- Giuseppe Tornatore
As Italy joins World War II, Renato, a twelve-year-old Sicilian kid, receives his first bicycle and, more importantly, sees Malèna, the statuesque newcomer whose husband is serving in the army. Malèna is now the center of attention and everyone’s favorite subject of increasingly rancorous gossip. She is coveted by every male in town yet scorned by their envious wives. Renato’s starry-eyed infatuation grows into obsession as the unattainable object of his desire becomes more and more a victim of her matchless beauty, with Malèna’s husband assumed slain in action. Malèna’s demise is now a foregone conclusion.
4. Amarcord (1973)
Director- Federico Fellini
A vibrant tapestry of interlacing vignettes emerges as sexually unsatisfied young adolescent Titta. She eagerly awaits the arrival of spring in an Italian coastal town in Benito Mussolini’s Fascist Italy. Over the course of a year, religion, politics, sex, and love coexist with wide-eyed childish curiosity, exhilarating emotional experiences, foolish obsessions, and ardent but repressed teenage urges. An ever-changing kaleidoscope of 1930s imagery, revolving around Titta’s boisterous family. It gradually draws Titta into a whole universe of life-altering moments and unadulterated youthful fantasies: the quintessential ingredients of one’s immortal recollections.
5. 20th Century Women (2016)
Director- Mike Mills
Love, life, and the challenges of raising a son in the late 1970s. The needs of a young man attempting to discover his own character and convictions versus the naivety of a free spirit. His mother tries to develop bonds that he cannot deal with while living in a bohemian household with three like-minded passionate people to help pay the rent. She can’t cope with his incapacity to communicate, so she enlists the support of other women in his life to help shoulder the burden of his parenting. Life slowly unravels for them all, and they have no idea why. Despite their apparent difficulties, they all go on to enjoy well-defined lives free of major consequences.
