Do we like them?

Do we like Paolo Sorrentino?

Our score: 7 out of 10. Decent record and nothing harmful found, but the male-gaze criticism and a thin look at his private conduct keep it short of the top.

Sorrentino is the Naples-born, Oscar-winning director behind big, lush, argumentative films about power, faith and beauty. These days he is moving sideways into football, with a first documentary on Carlo Ancelotti made with Fremantle and The Apartment. It is a long way from a papal drama, but it fits the way he likes to ask what people do with their power.

His biggest stoush in recent years was Parthenope. A late scene involving a cardinal and the liquefaction of San Gennaro's blood drew fire from Avvenire, the Italian bishops' newspaper, which called its aesthetics poor taste, while the film still topped the Italian box office. That is offence taken by churchgoers at a provocative scene, not harm to anyone, so it doesn't count against him here.

The criticism that does stick is about women. Reviewers have called Parthenope an exercise in the male gaze, and the New Statesman review quotes him saying women's mystery leads him to idealise them. That is a fair artistic gripe and a long way from demeaning women in public, so we've noted it and not marked him down for it.

On the harm check, nothing turned up. In August 2025 at the Sarajevo festival he said he agreed with those who say a genocide is happening in Gaza, and added that no film can stop such things. Where you land on that depends on how you read the war, but it is a view from the side of civilians, and he said it in his own words.

His 2025 film La Grazia is about a fictional Italian president wrestling with a pardon and a euthanasia law. At Venice he said doubt is rarely seen in politics. No court cases, lawsuits or credible allegations against him turned up, though honestly the record on how he treats crew and staff is thin.