The Hand of God

R

Released Dec 3, 2021

2 hr. 10 min.

Drama

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List

83%

157 Reviews

Tomatometer

76%

500+ Ratings

Audience Score

From Academy Award-winning writer and director Paolo Sorrentino (Il Divo, The Great Beauty, The Young Pope) comes the story of a boy, Fabietto Schisa, set in the tumultuous Naples of the 1980s. The Hand of God is a story full of unexpected joys, such as the arrival of football legend Diego Maradona, and an equally unexpected tragedy. Fate plays its part, joy and tragedy intertwine, and Fabietto's future is set in motion. Sorrentino returns to his hometown to tell his most personal story, a tale of fate and family, sports and cinema, love and loss.

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Critics Consensus

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.

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Alec B

It's just weird enough to have a real sense of authenticity, something a lot of other coming of age films lack.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/09/24

Full Review

Jill C

Heart. What a mess our hearts make, what a beautiful messy love.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/18/23

Full Review

benjeddou s

Day 2 day life in Napoli, well filmed with a nice casting. Maradona is a pretext for this nice movie centered around a large napolitan family.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

09/15/23

Full Review

Timur B

Liked it. An episode with baronessa is great

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Memoir of a young man with a cracked out Italian family. Though the characters are borderline obnoxious, the boy's journey is a unique one. The crazy aunt and the little monk / if you can't cry yet, you're not ready.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

Full Review

Daniel G

I'd like to watch this in Italian - to give it a special flavor. Very personal story telling and though it wasn't totally captivating and there were several times I wished it was the end of the movie, almost every moment of it ultimately seemed necessary. Congrats to Paolo Sorrentino.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/12/22

Full Review

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Paolo Sorrentino

Director

Filippo Scotti

Fabietto Schisa

Toni Servillo

Saverio Schisa

Teresa Saponangelo

Maria Schisa

Marlon Joubert

Marchino Schisa

Luisa Ranieri

Patrizia

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The Hand of God: Trailer 1

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The Hand of God: Teaser Trailer

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Leonard Maltin

leonardmaltin.com

The Hand of Godis filled with the kind of detail that could only have come from observation-and memory. That one family could contain so many unique and peculiar people is a reminder that truth is almost always stranger than fiction.

Jan 6, 2022

Full Review

Robert Levin

Newsday

This is a deeply affecting coming-of-age story that doubles as a movie about the movies themselves.

Rated: 3.5/4

Jan 6, 2022

Full Review

Mark Feeney

Boston Globe

The film has the vividness of memory, but also the structure of memory, which is to say no real structure at all. Visually, though, the movie is of a piece; it's Sorrentino's eye that holds it together.

Rated: 3/4

Dec 22, 2021

Full Review

Marya E. Gates

Cool People Have Feelings, Too. (Substack)

Sorrentino uses the coming-of-age genre to turn his own personal tragedy into a beguiling fable of family and creativity lost and found.

Feb 13, 2024

Full Review

Nuha Hassan

Nuha Hassan

The Hand of God is a love letter to Italy and for Sorrentino, it becomes a form of escapism and a humane portrayal of a grief-stricken teenager as he enters a new world.

Jul 21, 2023

Full Review

Sofía Alvarez Salas

Cinencuentro

[Sorrentino] has crafted a story even more personal within his canon, perhaps the most intimate and honest. [Full review in Spanish]

Sep 13, 2022

Full Review

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Synopsis

From Academy Award-winning writer and director Paolo Sorrentino (Il Divo, The Great Beauty, The Young Pope) comes the story of a boy, Fabietto Schisa, set in the tumultuous Naples of the 1980s. The Hand of God is a story full of unexpected joys, such as the arrival of football legend Diego Maradona, and an equally unexpected tragedy. Fate plays its part, joy and tragedy intertwine, and Fabietto's future is set in motion. Sorrentino returns to his hometown to tell his most personal story, a tale of fate and family, sports and cinema, love and loss.

Director: Paolo Sorrentino
Executive Producer: Riccardo Neri
Screenwriter: Paolo Sorrentino
Distributor: Netflix
Production Co: Film Commission Regione Campania, The Apartment Pictures, Regione Campania, Netflix
Rating: R (Sexual Content|Language|Brief Drug Use|Some Graphic Nudity)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Italian
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 3, 2021, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 15, 2021

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