---
name: "Paolo Sorrentino"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/paolo-sorrentino"
roles: ["Director","Screenwriter","Writer"]
born: "31 May 1970"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 3
average_fi1m_score: 76
updated: "2026-09-17T08:13:41.265921+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Paolo Sorrentino

Director and screenwriter. Born 31 May 1970 in Naples, Campania, Italy.

## Details

- **Work:** Director, Screenwriter, Writer
- **Born:** 31 May 1970, Naples, Campania, Italy
- **Active:** 2013–present
- **Works often with:** [Cristiano Travaglioli](https://film.one/person/cristiano-travaglioli.md), [Francesca Cima](https://film.one/person/francesca-cima.md), [Luca Bigazzi](https://film.one/person/luca-bigazzi.md), [Nicola Giuliano](https://film.one/person/nicola-giuliano.md)
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 2010s 74 (2), 2020s 80 (1)
- **Elsewhere:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q374678, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0815204/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/56194

## Streaming the US now

- **HBO Max:** [*The Great Beauty*](https://film.one/film/the-great-beauty.md) (83)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Paolo Sorrentino

> Paolo Sorrentino makes lavish films about men troubled by what they have become. We recommend *The Great Beauty* warmly: his sympathy for its drifting writer survives even the parties that run too long.

Jep Gambardella moves through Roman high society with enough charm to make his wasted evenings look inviting. In *The Great Beauty* (2013), Paolo Sorrentino gives Toni Servillo a journalist and stalled author who is increasingly troubled by the life he has made. We were moved by Jep’s unease, because Servillo keeps the hurt visible beneath his charm. Sorrentino understands why this man stays at the party, and that sympathy is the film’s strength.

Faded ambition was already a concern in *One Man Up* (2001), his first feature and the beginning of the Servillo partnership. The precise, atmospheric style of *The Consequences of Love* (2004) brought notice, and *Il Divo* (2008) widened his reputation. *The Hand of God* (2021), a semi-autobiographical film set in Naples, turns towards more personal material. *Parthenope* (2024) keeps Naples in view while shifting the attention towards female experience.

Cinematographer Luca Bigazzi is central to the appeal: their recurring collaboration favours long, mobile takes, saturated colour and carefully composed images. Those images make the luxurious surroundings worth looking at, so we understand the attraction before the film asks us to question it. Sorrentino’s eclectic use of existing music also lets a scene change mood or become funny without another speech. The formal, often aphoristic dialogue is less reliable. Too many people sound ready to deliver a judgement, and too few seem likely to listen.

The screenplay for *The Great Beauty*, written with Umberto Contarello, shows how easily Sorrentino can overdo the mockery. The quieter passages give Jep room to be troubled; the broader satire supplies acquaintances whose vanity is apparent almost as soon as they arrive. We know what is wrong with these people well before the parties finish demonstrating it. Several encounters could be shorter, and the film would lose little except repetition. Start with *The Great Beauty*, provided a few overlong parties will not spoil the evening.

## Biography

Paolo Sorrentino is an Italian film director and screenwriter. He was born on 31 May 1970 in Naples, Campania, Italy. He studied economics at the University of Naples Federico II before entering the film industry.

Sorrentino made his directorial debut with *One Man Up* (2001). His subsequent films include *The Consequences of Love* (2004), *Il Divo* (2008), *This Must Be the Place* (2011), *The Great Beauty* (2013), *Youth* (2015), *Loro* (2018) and *The Hand of God* (2021). He also directed the television series *The Young Pope* (2016) and *The New Pope* (2020).

He wrote the screenplay for *The Great Beauty* (2013) with Umberto Contarello. His later credits include *Parthenope* (2024) and *La Grazia* (2025).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, nytimes.com.*

## On Fi1m (3)

- *Mussolini: Son of the Century* (2025), Fi1m 80, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/tv/mussolini-son-of-the-century.md)
- *Youth* (2015), Fi1m 66, Director, Writer — [page](https://film.one/film/youth-2015.md)
- *The Great Beauty* (2013), Fi1m 83, Director, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/the-great-beauty.md)

## Also known for

- *The Hand of God* (2021), Screenplay, Director
- *This Must Be the Place* (2011), Director, Writer
- *Il Divo* (2008), Director, Screenplay
- *The Consequences of Love* (2004), Screenplay, Director
- *Parthenope* (2024), Director, Writer
- *The Young Pope* (2016), Director, Writer
- *Loro 1* (2018), Writer, Director
- *La Grazia* (2025), Director, Writer

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© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/paolo-sorrentino