"The Hand of God"

***** 2021 * R * 2h 10m  In Italian with English subtitles.  What an absolutely gorgeous film, from opening scene till the end credits roll. If you enjoyed Fellini's Amarcord, (One of my favorite movies of all time), then you're certain to love The Hand of God. It's a coming of age film that takes place in the 1970s in Naples and focuses on the exploits of the Schisa family. Young Fabietto is a huge soccer fan and a budding filmmaker. His parents Maria (Teresa Saponangelo) and Severio (Toni Servillo, the dashing star of The Great Beauty) have a rocky relationship, to say the least. It's the backdrop of the whole town buzzing about with the prospect of luring Maradona, the Argentinian superstar to their professional soccer team, that the action takes place. 

The film is filled with wonderful characters including the beautiful yet crazy aunt. And the scenery is absolutely gorgeous. It'll make you want to hop on the next plane to Italy. I though the soundtrack was also noteworthy. It had a quiet, melancholy feel to it, and contributed to the film's nostalgic atmosphere. The film clocks in at just over two hours, but I could easily have watched another hour of this marvelous movie! I must say, I'll be very disappointed if The Hand of God doesn't win the Best Foreign Film Award at this year's Oscars.

Streaming of Netflix and in theatres.