Paolo Sorrentino's 10th film is set in Naples.

Parthenope, the latest movie by the award-winning Italian director Paolo Sorrentino, is scheduled for release in cinemas across Italy on Thursday 24 October.

Like his last film È stata la mano di Dio (The Hand of God) three years ago, the 10th movie by Sorrentino is set in his native Naples and features the island of Capri and the Amalfi Coast.

The title of the movie, which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in May, takes its inspiration from the ancient Greek mythological siren synonymous with Naples.

The sun-drenched story develops from 1950 when the film's main protagonist is born, up to the present day, following the stages of her life in an ever-changing Naples.

#Cinema, arriva nelle sale "Parthenope", il nuovo film di #PaoloSorrentino. Protagonista una donna che porta il nome della sua città, incantevole e seducente pic.twitter.com/FbfTY2JoE6

— Tg2 (@tg2rai) October 23, 2024

Through her experiences, the film explores themes such as the desire for freedom, love and the complex bond with the city of Naples.

Celeste Dalla Porta plays Parthenope in her youth, while Stefania Sandrelli represents her later in life.

The film also stars Silvio Orlando in the role of Professor Devoto Marotta, who is bowled over by Parthenope's intellectual brilliance, with Gary Oldman as writer John Cheever and Luisa Ranieri as the enigmatic Greta Cool.

Peppe Lanzetta plays the bishop who officiates at a recurring miracle when the faithful gather in Naples to pray for the dried blood of the city's third-century patron saint, San Gennaro, to liquefy.

“It is not a love letter to Napoli, I am not capable of writing them", Sorrentino told La Repubblica, adding that the movie was an attempt to tackle "two mysteries: women and Naples”.

However, despite a nine-and-a-half minute standing ovation at Cannes, the film by the Neapolitian director best known for the Oscar-winning La grande bellezza (The Great Beauty) has received mixed reviews.

Writing in The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw said Sorrentino's new film "comes close to self-parody" and compares it to "a two-hour ad for some impossibly expensive cologne", while France's Télérama criticised the movie's "clichés".

Le Figaro hailed the film's visual beauty, comparing Sorrentino to Fellini, with Variety also praising the movie as a "splendid cinematic reflection".

Although generally enthusiastic about the film's cinematography and complexity, Italian critics were also divided. It is now up to Italy's cinema-goers to decide for themselves.