The Hand of God (2021)
Movie · 2021 · Drama · 2h 10m · R · IT
Curator score: 7.4/10 (228.6K ratings)
In 1980s Naples, an awkward teen struggling to find his place experiences heartbreak and liberation after he's inadvertently saved from a freak accident by football legend Diego Maradona.
Ratings:
- Curator score: 7.4/10
- IMDb: 7.3/10
- Letterboxd: 3.82/5
- Rotten Tomatoes: 83%
- Metacritic: 76
- TMDB: 7.5/10
Director: Paolo Sorrentino
Production: The Apartment Pictures
Cast: Filippo Scotti, Toni Servillo, Teresa Saponangelo, Luisa Ranieri, Marlon Joubert, Massimiliano Gallo, Betti Pedrazzi, Renato Carpentieri, Enzo De Caro, Sofya Gershevich, Lino Musella, Biagio Manna, Ciro Capano, Alessandro Bressanello, Birte Berg, Dora Romano, Monica Nappo, Cristiana Dell'Anna, Marina Viro, Daniele Vicorito
Where to watch: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Curator Review
Verdict: A deeply personal coming-of-age drama with bursts of comedy, sensuality, and grief, anchored by vivid Naples atmosphere and Sorrentino’s expressive visual style. It’s especially rewarding if you like autobiographical films that move between tenderness, absurdity, and emotional devastation.
Best for: fans of lyrical coming-of-age dramas; viewers who like autobiographical or semi-autobiographical films; people drawn to richly textured city portraits; audiences open to bittersweet, emotionally volatile storytelling; fans of visually stylized European cinema
Skip if: you want a tightly plotted, conventional drama; you dislike elliptical or self-consciously stylized filmmaking; you prefer understated realism over operatic emotion; you are looking for a sports film centered on football action
Overview: The Hand of God is Paolo Sorrentino at his most intimate, turning memory into a vivid, sometimes unruly portrait of adolescence in Naples. It begins in warmth and comic chaos, then gradually opens into a story about loss, awakening, and the strange ways art and fate arrive in a young life.
Worth noting: What makes it linger is the tension between exuberance and ache. Sorrentino’s camera finds beauty in family clutter, street life, and private embarrassment, while the film’s emotional center stays grounded in a shy teenager trying to understand the world before it breaks open.
Bottom line: It can feel indulgent at times, but the sincerity is unmistakable. If you respond to films that are both personal confession and cinematic performance, this is one of the more affecting examples of that mode.
Top Letterboxd reviews:
- izzy: i laughed for an hour. then cried for the other hour. it’s okay. i’m alive.
- Ella Kemp: That Timothée Chalamet x Fionn Whitehead motherfucker
- Holli: you all are gonna lose your minds over italian timothee chalamet
- Catus: Why are italian movies so… italian
- Hunter ᴴᴰ: *ahem* Not naming any names, but I think someone has a few unresolved issues with women and wanting to fuck their aunt.
Recommended similar titles:
- 8½ (1963 · Drama · 2h 19m · NR · Curator 9.5/10 (379.4K ratings) · Where to watch: Max)
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- Amarcord (1973 · Comedy, Drama · 2h 3m · R · Curator 9.0/10 (125K ratings) · Where to watch: Max)
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- The Last Picture Show (1971 · Drama, Romance · 1h 59m · R · Curator 9.4/10 (142.8K ratings))
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- Call Me by Your Name (2017 · Romance, Drama · 2h 12m · R · Curator 8.4/10 (3.4M ratings) · Where to watch: Peacock, Peacock Premium Plus)
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- The Virgin Suicides (2000 · Drama, Romance · 1h 37m · R · Curator 8.4/10 (3.6K ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV)
A dreamy, mournful memory film that treats adolescence as both mystery and elegy.
Topics: coming-of-age, Italian drama, autobiographical, bittersweet, grief, family dynamics, Naples, 1980s, lyrical, stylized
https://watchlist.tannermartz.com/apple/movie/the-hand-of-god/722778
Overview In 1980s Naples, an awkward teen struggling to find his place experiences heartbreak and liberation after he's inadvertently saved from a freak accident by football legend Diego Maradona.
Ratings
Curator score: 7.4/10
IMDb: 7.3/10
Letterboxd: 3.82/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 83%
Metacritic: 76
TMDB: 7.5/10
Production The Apartment Pictures
Cast Filippo Scotti, Toni Servillo, Teresa Saponangelo, Luisa Ranieri, Marlon Joubert, Massimiliano Gallo, Betti Pedrazzi, Renato Carpentieri, Enzo De Caro, Sofya Gershevich, Lino Musella, Biagio Manna, Ciro Capano, Alessandro Bressanello, Birte Berg, Dora Romano, Monica Nappo, Cristiana Dell'Anna, Marina Viro, Daniele Vicorito
Where to watch Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Curator Review
Verdict
A deeply personal coming-of-age drama with bursts of comedy, sensuality, and grief, anchored by vivid Naples atmosphere and Sorrentino’s expressive visual style. It’s especially rewarding if you like autobiographical films that move between tenderness, absurdity, and emotional devastation.
Best for
fans of lyrical coming-of-age dramas
viewers who like autobiographical or semi-autobiographical films
people drawn to richly textured city portraits
audiences open to bittersweet, emotionally volatile storytelling
fans of visually stylized European cinema
Skip if
you want a tightly plotted, conventional drama
you dislike elliptical or self-consciously stylized filmmaking
you prefer understated realism over operatic emotion
you are looking for a sports film centered on football action
Overview
The Hand of God is Paolo Sorrentino at his most intimate, turning memory into a vivid, sometimes unruly portrait of adolescence in Naples. It begins in warmth and comic chaos, then gradually opens into a story about loss, awakening, and the strange ways art and fate arrive in a young life.
Worth noting
What makes it linger is the tension between exuberance and ache. Sorrentino’s camera finds beauty in family clutter, street life, and private embarrassment, while the film’s emotional center stays grounded in a shy teenager trying to understand the world before it breaks open.
Bottom line
It can feel indulgent at times, but the sincerity is unmistakable. If you respond to films that are both personal confession and cinematic performance, this is one of the more affecting examples of that mode.
Top Letterboxd reviews
izzy (5★) · 3997 likes
i laughed for an hour. then cried for the other hour. it’s okay. i’m alive.
Ella Kemp (4★) · 2094 likes
That Timothée Chalamet x Fionn Whitehead motherfucker
Holli (2.5★) · 1743 likes
you all are gonna lose your minds over italian timothee chalamet
Catus (3★) · 1432 likes
Why are italian movies so… italian
Hunter ᴴᴰ (2★) · 1304 likes
*ahem* Not naming any names, but I think someone has a few unresolved issues with women and wanting to fuck their aunt.
Recommended similar titles
1963 · Drama · 2h 19m · NR · Curator 9.5/10 (379.4K ratings) · Where to watch: Max
A landmark self-reflexive Italian film about memory, desire, and artistic identity, with the same blend of confession and cinematic flourish.
1973 · Comedy, Drama · 2h 3m · R · Curator 9.0/10 (125K ratings) · Where to watch: Max
A nostalgic, episodic memory-film that turns adolescence and family life into a playful, melancholy mosaic.
1988 · Drama, Romance · 2h 4m · PG · Curator 9.6/10 (765.2K ratings)
A heartfelt coming-of-age story shaped by memory, loss, and the formative power of cinema.
1959 · Drama · 1h 39m · NR · Curator 9.4/10 (420.9K ratings) · Where to watch: Max
A foundational adolescent portrait that captures loneliness, rebellion, and the ache of growing up.
1972 · Comedy, Drama · 2h · R · Curator 4.4/10 (15.2K ratings)
An autobiographical city symphony that mixes personal memory with social observation and visual invention.
2013 · Drama · 2h 22m · Curator 8.9/10 (259.6K ratings) · Where to watch: Max
For viewers who respond to Sorrentino’s ornate imagery and his fascination with beauty, mortality, and regret.
1948 · Drama · 1h 29m · NR · Curator 9.4/10 (461.8K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Max, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
A classic Italian humanist drama about family pressure, dignity, and the fragility of ordinary life.
1977 · Drama, Romance · 1h 46m · NR · Curator 9.6/10 (66.8K ratings)
A character-driven Italian drama that finds emotional depth in domestic space and historical atmosphere.
2003 · Drama, Romance · 1h 55m · NC-17 · Curator 3.5/10 (144.2K ratings)
A sensual, memory-soaked film about youth, desire, and the charged atmosphere of a specific place and era.
1971 · Drama, Romance · 1h 59m · R · Curator 9.4/10 (142.8K ratings)
A melancholy coming-of-age ensemble that understands adolescence as a season of longing and loss.
2017 · Romance, Drama · 2h 12m · R · Curator 8.4/10 (3.4M ratings) · Where to watch: Peacock, Peacock Premium Plus
A lyrical, sunlit story of first desire and self-discovery with a strong sense of place and mood.
2000 · Drama, Romance · 1h 37m · R · Curator 8.4/10 (3.6K ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV
A dreamy, mournful memory film that treats adolescence as both mystery and elegy.
Topics
coming-of-age, Italian drama, autobiographical, bittersweet, grief, family dynamics, Naples, 1980s, lyrical, stylized
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