Italian films seem lusty, just by their nature. People in sunny Italy always seem to be full of life, exuberance, passion, anger, happiness and, most of all, drama. Italian cinema has produced great divas in the form of Sophia Loren, and before her, Anna Magnani. Miss Magnani couldn’t say a simple “hello” without tearing down the walls, ripping the curtains and pulling out most of her hair. Now that was passion.

However, not all the “fire and music” (aka Bette Davis) came from volcanic Italian women. Swedish-born Ingrid Bergman made a film called Stromboli (called Land of God) in 1950, fell in love with director Roberto Rossellini while married to Peter Lindstrom. She dumped Lindstrom and her daughter Pia and got pregnant with her son by Rossellini and caused such a scandal that it wrecked her Hollywood career. Even a Congresssman was proposing a bill that would rid America of wanton foreign women! How quaint.

Now we come to today’s The Hand of God.  We’re still in Italy---Naples, in fact. See Naples and die, they say. Well, you don’t have to die unless you get mugged down by the docks. Rumor has it that the film is autobiographical about the director Paolo Sorrentino. It’s not so much of a rumor---Sorrentino admits that.

Adorable young Fabio Schisa, played by the equally adorable actor Filippo Scotti, is coming of age with a vengeance. His hormones are roaring, and he doesn’t know to do to handle it, except to take things into his own hands to solve. He’s madly in love with his Aunt Patrizia, lustily played by the buxom Luisa Ranieri. She tantalizes the populace by sunning herself in the healthiest way by lying naked on the boat deck. She’s off-limits, of course.

Fabio’s extended family get together for raucous outdoor lunches and excursions to the beach. Everyone shouts, has questionable manners, and chaos reigns in Fabio’s life. This gives him ideas about becoming a film director. Even more-so, famed Italian movie director Federico Fellini comes to town to cast a new film. Fabio’s brother Marchino (played by actor Marlon Joubert—whose real parents must have been fans of Brando) is an aspiring actor. Fellini rejects him as more or less “common” looking! Fabio is not deterred and seeks the advice of a lesser-known film director Antonio Capuano (actor Ciro Capano).

The Baronessa Focale (played by the fabulous Betty Pedrazzi) lives upstairs and cleverly shows Fabio how to become a man by using that old “Close your eyes and think about England!” advice. But in this case, it’s Patrizia he should be thinking about.  

Despite tragedy that strikes his family (mom and dad are played by the delightful Toni Servillo and Teresa Saponangelo), he must now make it on his own, Fabio knows his future lies in the film studios of Rome. It was The Hand of God that was instrumental in determining his life goals.

One of the best films of the year, The Hand of God is made with love, passion and humor. It’s a film that should not be missed. I loved it, laughed, cried, and was inspired. If you don’t like it, you are a meatball.

 (Released by Netflix and rated “R” by MPAA.)