Deborah Ross

Wonderfully special: La chimera reviewed

Alice Rohrwacher's new film about a bunch of Italian graverobbers is gauzy and meandering, sometimes funny, sometimes heartbreaking

A woozy riot: the cast of La chimera, with the sensational Josh O’Connor (Arthur) at the centre 
issue 11 May 2024

La chimera, which, as in English, means something like ‘the unrealisable dream’, is the latest film from Italian writer/director Alice Rohrwacher (The Wonders, Happy as Lazzaro). Her films are arthouse, in the sense that if you’re in the mood for someone blowing stuff up and escaping by speedboat while enjoying flirtatious repartee with a sexy lady, this probably won’t cut it. But if you’re in the mood for something original and woozy and riotous and wonderfully special, you will be able to fill your boots.

Arthur has a kind of superpower that enables him to locate buried loot just by coming over funny

It is set in Italy in the 1980s and stars Josh O’Connor as Arthur. Arthur is a tombarolo. That is, someone who loots ancient graves for treasures that are then sold – illegally – to the art market. (Apparently, this was a big problem in Italy in the 1980s.)

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