'Dante's Hand' Film Asks: How Should We Live?

The film 'Dante's Hand' prompts a profound reflection on how to live, drawing deep connections to Dante Alighieri's "Divine Comedy" and contemporary philosophical thought. The reviewer, a bassist for the band Crying Nut, found the 150-minute film captivating from the start, evoking the feeling of entering Dante's hell with the inscription, "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here."

The film's opening dialogue, where a writer insists that "not a single word written from the heart should be edited," is met with a witty retort: "You can't put nail polish on a leopard's claw." This sets a tone of artistic integrity and sharp observation that permeates the narrative.

The reviewer muses whether Dante himself was a "14th-century hip-hop artist," viewing the "Divine Comedy" as a grand epic poem built on rhymes, akin to a rap battle. Dante, exiled from Florence for political reasons, used his pen to "diss" a corrupt world, embodying the spirit of a "rapper and rockstar" with impeccable style, even while in exile.

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You can't put nail polish on a leopard's claw.

The film delves into the narrative of Dante's wife, Gemma, a story not detailed in the original "Divine Comedy," presenting itself as a prequel. It translates the concepts of hell, purgatory, and heaven into a modern context, asserting that "time is a human construct, and only the present breath is truth." This echoes sentiments found in Tolstoy and "Dead Poets Society's" "Carpe Diem," as well as the meditative focus on the present moment.

However, the piece acknowledges the human tendency to cling to the past, to regrets and attachments, making "emptying" difficult. Yet, it suggests that this struggle, this "wobble," is what makes us human and what fuels the creation of art. The film features a brief but powerful cameo by Al Pacino, who advises the young protagonist, "Don't mess with anyone, and don't let anyone mess with you." Ultimately, 'Dante's Hand' poses a timeless question: Will you reach for an unattainable, mythical love like Beatrice, or grasp the tangible, present love of Gemma? How will you choose to live?

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Don't mess with anyone, and don't let anyone mess with you.