Below the Tuscan sun and soil, Italian auteur Alice Rohrwacher unearths a melancholic tale of loss with her film “La Chimera.” Featuring incredibly intimate performances from Josh O’Connor, Carol Duarte and Isabella Rossellini, Rohrwacher explores a compelling narrative that challenges how we confront the past.
Originally premiering at the 76th Cannes Film Festival in 2023, “La Chimera” stars Josh O’Connor as Arthur, an English expatriate navigating his life recently released from prison as an ambiguous lost lover by the name of Beniamina looms over him. Arthur finds himself reconnecting with a band of hedonist outlaws that utilize Arthur’s seemingly supernatural ability to locate ancient unopened tombs, leading to the grave robberies that serve the film’s narrative surface.
However, the meat of the film lies in the magical real elements, whose dreamlike yet naturalistic atmosphere echoes writers like Adolf Casares, while combining itself with a screwball wit reminiscent of an early Peter Bogdanovic. This blending of genres leads to a distinct and playful tone that effectively buys believability from the audience. The film leans into its screwball aspects during the grave-robbing sequences, employing a sped-up frame rate that delightfully adds a Chaplinesque camp. “La Chimera,” loosely translated to “pipe dream,” applies the inclusion of several mythologies to its narrative. From Italian-Etruscan mythology to the eastern Red Thread of Fate myth, the film is drenched in metaphors and superstition penned from a script by director Rohrwacher.
In addition to O’Connor, Rohrwacher curated a knockout ensemble that paints the film with an endearing varnish. Carol Duarte portrays Italia, the live-in student of Isabella Rossellini’s Flora. Both Duarte and Rossellini’s inclusion provides a unique perspective to the grave robbing that Arthur pursues. Duarte’s performance, in particular, is electric, and her charm acts as the perfect foil to O’Connor’s stoic characterization. The band of outlaws that Arthur finds himself with, liven the film as well, notably a performance by Vincenzo Nemolato as the happy-go-lucky Pirro.
Technically, this film indulges in an apparent celluloid aesthetic. Cinematographer Helene Louvart and Rohrwacher utilized several 16mm and 35mm film stocks, choosing not to shy away from its halation or in-camera vignetting, which makes the already naturalistic film even more tangible. Gorgeous super-16mm sequences presented in a 4:3 aspect ratio are also included, aiding the whimsicality of the film. Rohrwacher and Louvart also helm an inventive handle on the camera, rotating the camera on all axes akin to the dizzy spells Arthur experiences in the film.
Yet, while being creative, masterfully acted and visually stunning, the film’s overall experience, surprisingly, unravels itself as rigid and single-minded. The film subjects itself to the tropes it seeks to subvert, notably Arthur’s ambiguous relationship with Beniamina. Her inclusion, largely deceptive, is rather utilized as a narrative crutch for a will-they-won’t-they trope that results in a disjointed conclusion by the final act.
However, the main flaws that lie within the film are a product of Rohrwacher’s ultimate underestimation of the viewer as themes are spoon-fed rather than allowing the viewer to digest its meaning for themselves. While the first two acts allow its otherworldly elements to linger with little explanation, permitting the viewer to bask in the dreamy atmosphere fostered thus, the third act opts to employ a literal presentation of its imagery—in other words, Rohrwacher does a significant amount of telling and not showing. Arthur incurs dream sequences that, again, literally present ideas. The reductive nature of the third act resulted in a film 30-40 minutes too long, making the 2-hour 13-minute runtime ever-present.
The film’s fallible narrative issues make them, once captivating, ideas explored, dissolve in interest. “La Chimera” has the breadcrumbs of a ravenous exploration of death and dignity, but its tight grip on its narrative asphyxiates any interpretation from the viewer.
“La Chimera” is playing in theaters now.
Rating: 3/5
