The Etruscan civilisation existed from 900BCE – 27BCE, with many of their tombs that contained artifacts and valuable items sitting just below the surface across a huge part of Northern Italy. Tombaroli, grave-robbers of these tombs, are the subject of Alice Rohrwacher’s latest film La Chimera, which follows Arthur, played by Josh O’Connor, an Englishman living in Italy who works with a rag-tag group of scamps that find and sell Etruscan artifacts and trinkets. Arthur, who is recently out of prison, is searching for his missing girlfriend Beniamina and is constantly requiring a light for his cigarette, reunites with his eccentric group of raiders and they once again start looking for surface-deep tombs full of treasure.
In a few scenes, La Chimera becomes borderline slapstick, playing off the banter between the group and the hilarity of their situations. I wish the group at large was focused on more, as the cast’s chemistry was complimented by well written dialogue, it was consistently entertaining and probably my favourite element of the movie. Isabella Rossellini (who was in David Lynch’s Blue Velvet, one of my favourite films) plays Flora, the matriarch of a large family, and the grandmother of Beniamina. Flora is hopeful that Beniamina is out there, and that Arthur will find her one of these days, however her extended family is far less hopeful. I really enjoyed Isabella Rossellini as Flora, and she had more scenes across the film’s runtime than I thought she would have. Josh O’Connor was very good as Arthur, and really sold his uncertainty about Beniamina’s fate, as well as making me forget that he is actually English. In the film Arthur is even mentioned periodically as “the Englishman”, but since 90% of the film is in Italian, I found myself caught off-guard when he suddenly spoke with an English accent in some scenes that contained English dialogue.
La Chimera, 2023. Directed by Alice Rohrwacher.
I do wish the film balanced the elements a bit more smoothly, as the grave-robbing sequences are very fun, and it feels like we are watching a group of people simply live their lives, but it also feels like the film is leading up to something big with the lingering feeling that Beniamina is out there. While the pacing may not compliment the two plots, the film’s style absolutely does. The visual style, editing and score really work for both the funny, quirky scenes and the heavier scenes that will leave you awestruck. Alice Rohrwacher used a handheld camera for a lot of the film, grounding the audience in the drama and surrounding the camera with members of the Tombaroli crew gives the sense that the audience are all a part of the group.
Alice Rohrwacher gave an insight into La Chimera’s origin at Cannes film festival when she said “In Etruria — the Italian region where I live — history has always been awash with archaeological discoveries. In the eighties and nineties, you only had to stop off for a coffee to hear tales of somebody who, upon digging by night, had stumbled across painted vases, jewellery, and fragments of ancient statues.” La Chimera really captures this individualist whimsy, the notion that anyone could go looking and find these valuable artifacts. The film is shot on a few different types of film, one of which includes 16mm on an everyday camera, which is really embeds you in the movie’s setting.
La Chimera is a fun and unique period piece and portrays a world that borders on whimsical, and while it might not balance its subplots perfectly, it is beyond charming and definitely worth the watch.
It is playing at the Somerville Auditorium through Perth Festival from Monday the 26th of February to Sunday the 3rd of March.