ROME (AP) 鈥� When director Paolo Sorrentino鈥檚 hit series debuted in 2016, it took the Vatican a year to grudgingly bless his imagined and occasionally blasphemous portrayal of the pope. Not so for Sorrentino鈥檚 latest film 鈥淧arthenope,鈥� which has gotten an early thumbs down from Italy's Catholic Church.
That has only seemed to pique interest in the film, driving it to the top of the box office here for Italian films since its release in theaters last month.
Set in Sorrentino鈥檚 native Naples, the film is a lush meditation on beauty, love and death, drawn from the Greek myth of the siren Parthenope, who throws herself into the sea after she fails to entice Odysseus with her song. Parthenope is closely affiliated with Naples, such that the city is sometimes called 鈥淧artenope鈥� and its people 鈥淧artenopei鈥� in Italian.
The film is by no means about the church, but toward the end of the film, there is a single scene that would make any Catholic choke. It involves a cardinal, the seductive protagonist Parthenope and the liquification of the blood of San Gennaro 鈥� the purported recurring miracle that is a sacred cow to many Neapolitans.
Prominent Italian Catholics have denounced the sacrilegious sex scene as not only demeaning to the faith but Naples itself, with the newspaper of the Italian bishops conference Avvenire calling the 鈥渟terile aesthetics鈥� of the scene 鈥渋n poor taste.鈥�
In a roundup of negative reaction, Avvenire said Sorrentino鈥檚 fascination with the Catholic Church in 鈥淭he Young Pope鈥� had reached new lows in 鈥淧arthenope.鈥�
鈥淭he impression is that they are images chosen for the image, whether nuns playing tennis or cardinals smoking cigars,鈥� Avvenire concluded.
Monsignor Vincenzo De Gregorio, who oversees the chapel that houses the relic of San Gennaro鈥檚 blood and related treasures of Naples鈥� patron saint, said he hadn鈥檛 seen the film in its entirety but that the clips of the scene were enough.
While acknowledging that his comments would only give the film more publicity, De Gregorio told Corriere della Sera that he objected primarily to the 鈥渟uperficial鈥� treatment the film gave to one of Naples鈥� enduring mysteries: How San Gennaro鈥檚 blood liquifies, or doesn鈥檛, on three specific days each year.
According to legend, the purported miracle recalls the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 1631 when the blood of San Gennaro liquified and the magma from the volcano stopped before entering the city. San Gennaro is today often invoked to protect Neapolitans, and the thrice-yearly ritual draws thousands of devotees.
鈥淥f course Sorrentino didn鈥檛 intend to make a documentary or an in-depth, sociological, historical analysis of Naples, but simply to analyze its dreamlike aspect, because basically that鈥檚 all it is,鈥� De Gregorio told Corriere.
Sorrentino, who won an Oscar for his Fellini-esque love letter to Rome, has said his ode to Naples had to focus on Parthenope, the sea and the complicated and at times contradictory relationship between them and Naples itself.
鈥淪he is a free woman, very spontaneous, she doesn鈥檛 judge, as the city doesn鈥檛 judge,鈥� he told a press conference at the Cannes Film Festival, where 鈥淧arthenope鈥� debuted in May to a standing ovation. 鈥淪he鈥檚 the mirror of the city where I grew up.鈥�
And some have hailed 鈥淧arthenope,鈥� with the Cannes jury giving its cinematographer, Daria d鈥橝ntonio, the festival's technical award. This week, Italian media reported that T-shirts have begun circulating around Naples with 鈥淚 love Sorrentino鈥� and 鈥淚 love Parthenope,鈥� and new figurines for Christmas creches, for which Neapolitan artisans are famous, featuring one of the film鈥檚 characters.
Sorrentino himself found adoring fans seeking selfies and autographs this week during a special screening of the film in Palermo, Sicily.
It's the latest brush of recent cinematic attention for Naples, the backdrop for the HBO television series 鈥淢y Brilliant Friend鈥� based on the best-selling quartet of novels by Elena Ferrante.
Sorrentino鈥檚 last feature film, was also based in Naples and featured another sacred but secular icon to Neapolitans, Maradona. Before that, he made a splash with his 10-episode series 鈥淭he Young Pope,鈥� starring Jude Law as an improbable and controversial pope, which was followed by 鈥淭he New Pope,鈥� starring John Malkovich.
A year after the initial HBO and Sky series began airing in Italy in late 2016, the Vatican newspaper L鈥橭sservatore Romano finally offered generally positive reviews despite what it called the 鈥渇rivolous,鈥� 鈥欌�檆austic鈥� and 鈥済rotesque鈥� way it painted the Vatican.
L鈥橭sservatore Romano hasn鈥檛 commented on 鈥淧arthenope.鈥�
The Vatican is a perennial topic for directors, with a host of films in recent years focusing on the papacy including Nanni Moretti鈥檚 鈥淗abemus Papam,鈥� Netflix鈥檚 鈥淭he Two Popes鈥� and most recently 鈥淐onclave鈥� starring Ralph Fiennes.
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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP鈥檚 with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Nicole Winfield, The Associated Press
