Parthenope (2024) review

Birth-to-retirement depiction of the life of Parthenope (Celeste Dalla Porta), named after the mythological siren (and an important figure in the history of Naples): she grows up with troubled brother Raimondo (Daniele Rienzo), has a brief romance with Sandrino (Dario Aita), spends time with boozed-up American writer John Cheever (Gary Oldman), studies anthropology at university with stern Professor Marotta (Silvio Orlando), is impregnated by mob affiliate Roberto (Marlon Joubert) and then aborts the child, and eventually becomes a full-time instructor herself.  There's been some chatter on social media about how Sorrentino "doesn't understand women" which might be fair (let's be honest: who does?) but it also misses the point: the writer-director views his subject as a mysterious beauty (Dalla Porta is gorgeous) that none of his characters can begin to comprehend, either ... except perhaps Cardinal Tesorone (Peppe Lanzetta), who's referred to as "a devil," and has no difficulty separating (or is that integrating?) both earthly and spiritual pleasure.  My (mild) gripe is that Sorrentino still can't (or doesn't want to) break free from the influence of Fellini, as there are multiple stand-out sequences (especially the fornication scene with two young Mafia heirs) that are not properly integrated into the narrative.  Or maybe that's the takeaway: life is simply a series of magical moments that offer no real explanation ... and that spending your career studying miracles and guiding the youth is rewarding in itself.