Film Review

La chimera

todayAugust 1, 2024 78

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By – Gareth Jones

For fans of Alice Rohrwacher, Italian Neorealism, Fellini, and Josh O’Conner

I was fortunate to see La chimera in the cinema at Sidewalk Cinema as part of a collaboration with Hypercritic Kate Burney, who gave an excellent intro to Italian cinema and specifically located Alice Rohrwacher in that wonderful cinematic tradition.  I highly recommend attending an event like this.  It was a great crowd with a fun, lively atmosphere, which paired beautifully with this modern masterpiece.

Alice Rohrwacher has only made four feature films, but she has already ascended into the top tier of current Italian filmmakers.  She does this in her own way with respectful nods to her influences and predecessors/ancestors.  I use this second term specifically because connecting to your past and ancestors is a repeated theme in her work.

In this case, the cinematic ancestors are Federico Fellini, Roberto Rosselin, Vitorrio De Sica, and the whole Italian Neorealism crew, but like Fellini in particular, she has a remarkable balance between absurd humor and deep emotion.  I was especially tickled to see the references to Indiana Jones.  This modern mythology is mixed with ancient mythology and cultures creating a transcendent and spiritual experience.  La chimera translates to “the impossible dream” and this universality of expression is the perfect title for the themes examined in this film.

Josh O’Conner plays Arthur (yes, another mythological reference) a young man who has just gotten out of prison for grave robbing of antiquities.  Immediately, his appearance matches Harrison Ford’s rugged looks with a disheveled appearance.  His suit could be from many eras.  He goes to the small town and farm where he reconnects with the family of his lost love, Beniamina, and the merry band of fellow thieves.  The matriarch (an important connection to the Etruscans and female leadership) of the lost love’s family, Flora, is played to perfection by Isabella Rossellini in an insightful connection to the cinematic lineage.  Arthur has a special ability to “dowse” the ancient Etruscan burial locations, and he once again teams up with the band of thieves called the “tombaroli ” which translates to “tomb raiders”.  This band is played by non-professional actors in the neorealist tradition.  They are hilarious, but also are tinged with an air of pain and suffering.  The common man being exploited by the rich is still an important theme explored by Rohrwacher.  Like Orpheus, Arthur is trying to connect with his Eurydice, expressed in the dream sequences.

Flora is assisted by a voice “student” Italia (not so subtle naming) who is exploited as a servant rather than receiving lessons.  This exploitation is very similar to the farmers’ servitude to the tobacco marquise in Rohrwacher’s previous film Happy as Lazarro, and in a similar fashion to Lazarro, Italia is a pure person representing the goodness of the people.  Her free spirit is enticing to Arthur, most notably in a hilarious and endearing dance sequence. Carol Duarte is luminescent as Italia. The connection to her other films is natural as Rohrwacher intended this to be the last film of a trilogy with The Wonders being the first, followed by Happy as Lazarro and competed with La chimera.

Once again, Rohrwacher is collaborating with cinematographer Helen Louvart, and here they use multiple types of film stock to move the audience back and forth between time periods visually.  At times, it is dizzying, but it is always aesthetically pure and often stunning in its beauty.

Alice Rohrwacher, with her own group of merry thieves, has concocted a timeless reflection on love, loss, and our universal connections to the past. What is worth holding on to and what is meant to be remembered?  Some things are not meant for human eyes, but I am glad that this film is.

Streaming now on various platforms

Written by: Gareth Jones

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