“What are you thinking about?” This is a question that our protagonist is repeatedly subjected to, and Paolo Sorrentino, one of the most prominent Italian filmmakers out there right now, leaves it up to his audience to decide in his latest work, Parthenope. The film can be interpreted as a meditative look at youth, desire, and beauty, and it’s not surprising that opinions are divided when it comes to how the protagonist is projected. At the center of the narrative is Parthenope, an attractive young woman named after the place where she was born; the name also happened to be derived from a siren in Greek mythology. Naples, too, is a central character in the film—the city of contradictions, a blend of the could-have-been and immense opportunities.

Spoiler Alert

How was Parthenope affected by the death of her brother?

As a woman at the peak of her youth,...