Cannes 2024: Paolo Sorrentino visibly emotional as ‘Parthenope’ receives lengthy standing ovation
Director Paolo Sorrentino appeared to be visibly emotional at the Cannes Film Festival following the screening of his new film Parthenope. After the film’s premiere on May 21st in France, Sorrentino embraced many of its stars, including Gary Oldman, Celeste Delle Porta and Stefania Sandrelli.
Parthenope received a huge standing ovation for nine-and-a-half minutes, and Della Porta had tears running down her face. Sorrentino also looked deeply emotional as a result of the brilliant and adoring reception.
Addressing the audience, Sorrentino noted, “For me, this movie is a celebration of the journey of my life. I want to thank [Cannes general delegate] Thierry Fremaux for the beginning of my journey in cinema 20 years ago.”
Ever since Sorrentino’s film The Consequences of Love premiered at Cannes 20 years ago, the director has continually made an impression on the iconic festival. Notably, the filmmaker won the Jury’s Prize in 2008 for Il Divo, and the Ecumenical Jury’s Prize in 2011 for This Must Be the Place.
His films have frequently appeared in competition at Cannes, including The Family Friend, The Great Beauty and Youth. Parthenope tells of a titular woman “who bears the name of her city but is neither siren nor myth” and is Sorrentino’s “first feminine epic”, according to the Italian filmmaker.
In an interview with Variety, Sorrentino recently spoke of the feminine and epic qualities of Parthenope, noting, “I wanted to make an epic movie, the epic of a modern hero. And in thinking of a modern hero it came naturally to me that she was a heroine, not a man, for many reasons. Because I find the journey that women make much more heroic today than the epic and heroic journey of man was in the past.”
In the film, Gary Oldman plays the American writer John Cheever, who had set several of his short stories in Italy. According to Sorrentino, Oldman had been familiar with the work of Cheever, whom the actor had seemingly studied well.
“I think he knew Cheever’s work quite well,” Sorrentino explained. “Actually, he’s the one who told me how he would play Cheever. He said, ‘There is a very good John Cheever interview on YouTube. I saw it, I understood it, and I know how to do him.’ And that was the end of that character’s preparation.”
The director added, “Oldman is one of the top five actors in the world. He can play anything.”
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