Directed by Paolo Sorrentino • 2001 • Italy
Starring Toni Servillo, Andrea Renzi, Nello Mascia

Paolo Sorrentino’s feature directorial debut finds him already exploring his signature themes of celebrity, masculinity, and moral corruption via an incisive dual portrait of two similarly named men who ascend to the heights of fame amid the sordid world of 1980s Naples. While Tony Pisapia (Toni Servillo) finds success as a singer of cheesy pop songs, Antonio Pisapia (Andrea Renzi) achieves glory on the soccer field—until drugs, scandal, and tragedy upend both their careers and force them to fight their way back into the spotlight.