THE HAND OF GOD Trailer

A boy grows up under difficult circumstances in The Hand of God, an autobiographical take on writer/director Paolo Sorrentino’s teenage years.

In case you don’t know, the title is a sports reference. Specifically, it’s a reference to a should-have-been disallowed goal by Diego Maradona in the 1986 World Cup (aka, it’s about football/soccer, so good luck getting Americans to understand). I assume this will be spelled out since Sorrentino’s film ostensibly pulls from the event, but I imagine it will also have metaphorical meaning, as Sorrentino’s teenage years were marked by tragedy.

Something like this could come off as self-indulgent, but Sorrentino has made so many acclaimed films, from The Great Beauty to Youth, that one expects him to avoid the pitfalls the premise.

Starring in the film is Filippo Scotti as Fabietto, the assumed Sorrentino stand-in. He’s a relatively green actor, but he’ll be helped out by the more seasoned Toni Servillo and Teresa Saponangelo, who play his parents.

It’s no secret that the latter pair are doomed for tragedy, as Sorrentino’s parents died when he was 16. This trailer gives away that a similar fate will befall the parents onscreen, and as difficult as this subject must have been for Sorrentino to revisit, festival reviews indicate that he finds something special in his autobiographical musings.

The Hand of God is directed by Paolo Sorrentino and stars Filippo Scotti, Toni Servillo, and Teresa Saponangelo. It will have a limited theatrical release in the US on December 3rd and be released worldwide on Netflix December 15th.

Will you check this one out? Let us know in the comments!