5 Neapolitan stories that could inspire Sorrentino's new film

A few days ago, Deadline's Andreas Wiseman exclusively reported that Paolo Sorrentino is ready to start shooting his new film, having completed the pre-production phase. It was originally speculated that the film would revolve around the myth of the siren Partenope - after he had already tackled the myth of Munaciello in La Mano di Dio - but according to Deadline, this story is not true. Perhaps the siren who inspired the name of Naples will appear, but the film will tell a Neapolitan epic set between Naples and Capri. With these few elements at our disposal, we have tried to imagine who could be the protagonist of Sorrentino's next film, who often prefers true stories on which he embroiders incredible visual novels.

Edmundo, "O' Animal"

It's the early 2000s and the world of Italian football is at its peak. After moving to Fiorentina, Edmundo arrives in Naples. He is Brazilian, technically skilled, and has such a difficult character that he has been nicknamed 'O' Animal'. Edmundo's adventure in Naples was initially greeted with great euphoria, never really got off the ground: injury on his debut and a total of 4 goals. Off the pitch, however, things looked very different: two years before he arrived in Naples, Edmundo had been arrested and placed on semi-liberty, and things were not to get any better after his move to Naples. A story of talent and defeat that goes very, very deep.

Pino Daniele

A film about Pino Daniele would be the ideal fil rouge with La Mano di Dio playing Napule è over the credits. It's hard to explain what Pino Daniele represented with Naples, a strange and complicated story about the best singer in Neapolitan history, but who no longer lived in Naples, 'strangled' by his success. Like Sorrentino, but for different reasons, Daniele moved to Rome and from there began to see and tell his city. To see Pino Daniele, his relationship with the Neapolitan sound and Gigi D'alessio, portrayed by Sorrentino, would be the ultimate fulfillment of Neapolitanism.

Carmine, Raffaele and Luigi Giuliano

One of the most famous photos of Maradona's heady experience in Naples is also one of the most controversial: it shows him sitting on a shell-shaped sofa in the company of Carmine and Raffaele Giuliano, then with his nephew Luigi, the boss of Forcella, one of Naples' most central and historic neighborhoods. The history of the Giuliano family is often shrouded in an aura of the mystical: Carmine was called 'Lion' and Luigi's 'Love' because of his skill with women. Sorrentino has never made a secret of his admiration for Maradona, nor of his ability to portray evil. Sorrentino's narration of the Camorra would fit the idea of a 'Neapolitan epic over several generations' that the film seems to be telling.

Massimo Troisi

A few years ago, a letter went viral on Twitter in which a young Sorrentino wrote to Massimo Troisi, an icon of Neapolitan comedy, asking if they could work together. Troisi represented the highest point of arrival for anyone who wanted to make films in Naples in those years, so it's not hard to imagine a film by Sorrentino about him that would also add another autobiographical twist to the story. Indeed, the letter says: "I hope that with my future degree in economics and business, I will be able to make films rather than work in any other field".

Curzio Malaparte

If, as it seems, the film will also be set in Capri, who better than Curzio Malaparte to portray a perfect Sorrento subject? The writer, essayist, and man of letters are, in the eyes of the world, the epitome of someone capable of falling madly in love with Naples and Capri. In fact, on Capri stands the Villa Malaparte, where a scene from The Great Beauty has already been filmed.