La Chimera (2023)
La Chimera
”An English archaeologist seeks a legendary door to the underworld with his tomb-robbing crew.”
Now playing in theaters
Trailer
Why watch this film?
Whether in the documentary genre (Four Roads) or in dramatic fiction (Happy as Lazzaro), Italian filmmaker Alice Rohrwacher has the ability to capture a certain dreamlike texture, or magical realism, as if her stories were set in other times or planes of existence that are both familiar and impossible. The same can be said of La Chimera, her film selected at the Cannes Festival 2023. The plot follows a small-time thief, Arthur (The Crown's Josh O'Connor), who is just getting out of prison and returns to his old ways when he is recruited by his old gang to search for and steal antiques. However, his search is something more personal and mystical, as he longs for a woman he lost. The narrative is as chimerical as his character's journey, and therefore there is a mystery at the heart of the film that speaks to both our sense and purpose of life, as well as the longing and lament for what is lost in time.
Lalo Ortega
Assistant Editor at Filmelier
Plot summary
Just out of jail and still searching for his late beloved Beniamina, crumpled English archaeologist Arthur reconnects with his wayward crew of tombaroli accomplices – a happy-go-lucky collective of itinerant grave-robbers who survive by looting Etruscan tombs and fencing the ancient treasures they dig up. Arthur isn’t interested in the artefacts, though; he’s seeking a legendary door to the underworld, and to Beniamina.
To share
Do you want to watch something different?
Watch full movies now!
Press play and be surprised!
Where to watch?
From the same director
Happy as Lazzaro
This Italian feature was one of the standouts at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, earning the Palme d'Or for Best Screenplay for writer-director Alice Rohrwacher (who also helmed 'The Wonders'). The titular Lazzaro is a young man who lives a simple life in the countryside and is extremely naive, eventually becoming friends with a nobleman's heir. Alice's merit lies in her ability to genuinely express a social message in a simple way - making an old-fashioned work still seem so fresh and current. With a rating of 12 years old, it's also a great movie for parents to watch alongside slightly older children.
Four Roads
The Italian filmmaker Alice Rohrwacher (‘Lazzaro Felice’) presented her short ‘Le Quattro Strade’ with the following words: “It is April, a virus prevents us from being together. I thought that, since I couldn’t do it with my body, I could approach my neighbors through the eye of my imagination”. This short is both a warm look at life in a pandemic and the ways to connect without the need for physical contact, as well as a demonstration of the emotional possibilities of art - and cinema - to unite.
Comedy
Lisa Frankenstein
A coming of rage love story from acclaimed writer Diablo Cody (Jennifer's Body) about a misunderstood teenager and her high school crush, who happens to be a handsome corpse. After a set of playfully horrific circumstances bring him back to life, the two embark on a murderous journey to find love, happiness…and a few missing body parts along the way.
A Brighter Tomorrow
Italian filmmaker Nanni Moretti (winner of the Palme d'Or in 2001 for The Son's Room) returns with what has been called his 8½, for obvious reasons. A Brighter Tomorrow is the story of a filmmaker struggling to shoot a movie about the Hungarian Revolution, while trying to save his marriage to his producer wife. The film satirizes the current state of cinema, and perhaps indulges a bit too much in its nostalgia. It is far from the best that veteran Moretti has to offer, but if you've enjoyed his previous films, you will undoubtedly enjoy this one.
City Hunter
'City Hunter' - An exceptional marksman and hopeless playboy, private eye Ryo Saeba reluctantly forms an alliance with his late partner’s sister to investigate his death.
Club Zero
Club Zero is a film with a risky proposition: to understand how young people, especially those of Generation Z, dive headfirst into new trends to feel like they belong to something. But at what cost? That's what this complicated film by Jessica Hausner (Little Joe) seeks to understand. Complicated, not because it has any complexity, but because it tackles a thorny issue (this particular behavior) and further complicates it by addressing eating disorders, with young people stopping eating for the sake of a better world. With not much material to discuss, the film ends up going in circles and dangerously falling into emptiness. However, Hausner still manages to find some space to reflect on where the world is heading and, above all, where this dangerous herd behavior is taking us — something that, ultimately, the film itself ends up embracing by adhering to trends reminiscent of Wes Anderson's style and Greek cinema aesthetics.
