Parthenope (Sorrentino)

[WorldForgot]

The Naples set coming-of-age drama follows Parthenope over decades — first, as a young woman summering in Capri with her beloved brother Raimondo (Daniele Rienzo) and his best friend Sandrino (Dario Aita) in a sordid, not-so-family-oriented love triangle. The film then follows her over the years as she meets lovers and friends while she figures out what she wants to do with her life before settling on studying anthropology. It's an epic tale of a woman living her life by her own principles at a time and place where women rarely did so.

Oscar winner Sorrentino ("The Great Beauty") takes an unusual step in his filmography by placing a woman at the center of his latest exploration of youth and time's passing.

"It's connected to a particular literary genre, which is epic. Epic tales historically were male-dominated, and they had almost exclusively male protagonists. Therefore, I thought it would be repetitive because so much has already been done and said. There's been so much effort and commitment [on] the part of women. When we're focusing on an epic dimension, the epic dimension belongs to women in this day and age a lot more than it belongs to men," he said via Interpreter Lilia Pino Blouin.

Opened last Thurs in the States, playing select theaters this week.