Netflix has released the official trailer and a new poster for its upcoming debut of Academy Award-winning Paolo Sorrentino’s heart-wrenching and visually stunning masterpiece, The Hand of God. The film is set to premiere on the streaming service on December 15. The Hand of God, or È stata la mano di Dio, has already set the film awards world ablaze, winning the Grand Jury Prize at the 78th Venice International Film Festival. In addition to this major win for the film, Filippo Scotti, who plays the leading role, received the Marcello Mastroianni Award which is given every year to standout up-and-coming performers. The movie, which is slated for a limited theatrical release in December, has also been chosen as the Italian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards which will occur in March 2022.
The Italian language film tells the story of Fabietto Schisa (Scotti), a young man who hails from a very close-knit, larger-than-life family in Naples, Italy during the 1980s. Fabietto’s young life is surrounded by love, joy, and happiness from his family and also excitement based around the debut of the remarkable soccer player, Diego Maradona. Life takes an unforeseen and debilitating turn for the worse, however, when a horrible accident rips the young man’s parents away from him. What happens next is a tear-jerking coming-of-age tale about what it means to grow up in a world after experiencing such a devastating loss at a young age.
Sorrentino, who won the Academy Award, the Golden Globe, and the BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2013 for his work La Grande Bellezza, is also known for HBO’s The Young Pope and The New Pope. The Hand of God is based on Sorrentino’s own upbringing and is said to be his “most personal” and “best” film yet. And, in the new trailer, it’s easy to see why. In one clip, we see a character forcefully asking Fabietto if he has a story to tell. When Fabietto passionately yells back “YES,” the audience can see that this film is in fact the answer to the man’s question.
The Hand of God also stars Toni Servillo, Teresa Saponangelo, Luisa Ranieri, Massimiliano Gallo, Renato Carpentieri, Marlon Joubert, Betti Pedrazzi, Biagio Manna, Ciro Capano, Enzo De Caro, Sofya Gershevich, Lino Musella, and Roberto Oliveri.
With all of the positive buzz surrounding this emotionally fueled tale of heartbreak and triumph, combined with beautiful cinematography, we can’t wait to grab a box of tissues and settle in for this film when it lands on Netflix on December 15. Check out the full trailer below: