In the Hand of Dante

A handwritten In the Hand of Dante (2025) is a mystery-drama directed by Julian Schnabel, based on Nick Tosches’ acclaimed novel. manuscript of Dante Alighieri’s poem “The Divine Comedy” makes its way from a priest to a mob boss in New York City, where it is taken by author Nick Tosches after he’s asked to verify its authenticity.

Introduction

The Hand of Dante is a 2025 drama-mystery movie directed by Julian Schnabel, adapted from Nick Tosches’ 2002 novel. The film combines a modern thriller that focuses on a stolen manuscript from Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy with flashbacks to Dante’s life while he was writing his iconic poem. Its running time is 153 minutes, the movie is made by a variety of companies, including Dream Crew, Infinitum Nihil, Mad Gene Media, and other companies. It premiered outside of an competition during the 1982 Venice International Film Festival on September 3 2025.

Storyline Plot

The story is told through Nick Tosches, an author who is commissioned to verify the authenticity of a recently located manuscript The Divine Comedy The manuscript is allegedly stolen by the Vatican. The manuscript eventually ends up in the hands of an unnamed New York mob boss, which sets off a potentially dangerous sequence of incidents. The film also follows In the Hand of DanteDante Alighieri in 14th-century Italy when he is confronted with his own personal, creative spiritual, and physical difficulties. Both narratives reflect one another by drawing connections between the experiences of each character when they confront betrayal moral dilemmas, and love. 

Themes

• The connection between authenticity, art and ownership
• The legacy burden and how it creates the persona of an individual
• Moral ambiguity, corruption and the abuse of power
• Parallelism between the past and present, particularly in personal struggle and creative sacrifice
• The intersection of literature, crime, and belief .

CastIn the Hand of Dante

• Oscar Isaac plays Nick Tosches / Dante Alighieri 
• Gal Gadot plays Giulietta in the film Gemma Donati 
• Gerard Butler as Louie / Pope Bonifacio 
• John Malkovich as Joe Black 
• The supporting the cast include Jason Momoa, Al Pacino, Martin Scorsese, Sabrina Impacciatore, Franco Nero, Benjamin Clementine, and others. 

Production

The film was in the process of development in 2008 at the time of its development beginning featuring Johnny Depp attached as both the producer and protagonist. Julian Schnabel was named director in the year 2011. The film was in limbo for a long time before being renewed in 2023 In the Hand of Dantewith Oscar Isaac replacing Depp. Filming was conducted in Italy under an interim agreement between SAG-AFTRA and the union. The score was composed written by Benjamin Clementine, cinematography by Roman Vasyanov, and editing by Marco Spoletini and Louise Kugelberg. The budget is USD 25 million.

FAQs

Q Is The Hand of Dante based on an actual account?
No. It’s an adaptation of a novel which is fictional, but it does use authentic historical people (Dante) as well as a fictional author from the present.

Q When was the premiere in the world?
September 3rd, 2025 at the Venice International Film Festival. 

Q What’s the duration of this film?
Approximately 15 minutes. 

Q What languages are spoken for the movie?
Primarily English and Italian.

Q: Who’s playing the leading part?
Oscar Isaac portrays both Nick Tosches and Dante Alighieri. 

Conclusion

The Hand of Dante offers a dual narrative that spans centuries, and contrasts the treacherous contemporary journey with the creative and spiritual trials confronted by Dante. With a strong ensemble and an engaging premise it seeks to probe the complex issues of the role of literature, faith as well as identity and moral dilemmas. The film’s literary roots and relevance to current issues makes it an important release in 2025.