Like his predecessors Luchino Visconti and Federico Fellini, Paolo Sorrentino isn’t known for his self-restraint. Take, for instance, The Young Pope, one of his best-known productions, featuring Jude Law as a young, charming, and enigmatic American pope. Sorrentino’s latest film is about a Neapolitan woman named after one of the coastal city’s founders, Parthenope; it is also the name of a siren in Greek mythology. He follows her as she transitions from adolescence to adulthood and into old age. Portrayed by the rising actress Celeste Dalla Porta, Parthenope is continually admired for one thing: her beauty. She captivates every man who enters her life—from her on-and-off boyfriend Sandrino to an older stranger at a hotel pool—yet none of them truly come to know her. Containing the air of mystery often found in Sorrentino’s work, Parthenope plays with impenetrability. A film about passion, beauty, and perception, it reminds us that some things are eternally fleeting. —Jeanne Malle