LA CHIMERA
After a stint in jail, British expat Arthur (a soulful Josh O’Connor) returns to the village in Central Italy where he’s been squatting outside the crumbling estate of an elderly matriarch (Isabella Rossellini). Haunted by memories of his former flame and driven by a romantic obsession with Etruscan artifacts, Arthur re-teams with a motley band of tombaroli—robbers who make their living plundering ancient gravesites. Powered by Arthur’s nearly mystical powers to divine the locations of long-buried tombs, the team goes on a fruitful spree, selling their pillaged wares to an Oz-like art dealer known as Spartaco. Meanwhile, Arthur enters a cautious dalliance with a winsome young woman (scene-stealer Carol Duarte, PFF28’s INVISIBLE LIFE) who harbors secrets of her own. Following HAPPY AS LAZZARO (PFF27) and last year’s Oscar-nominated short LE PUPILLE (PFF31), Alice Rohrwacher once again proves herself to be one of the greatest chroniclers of Italy’s constantly resurfacing past, crafting a beautifully tattered vision of the 1980s in which ancient mysteries are always just below the surface.
CAST: Josh O’Connor, Isabella Rossellini, Carol Duarte, and Alba Rohrwacher
All sales are final. Admission is not guaranteed after scheduled start time.
CLICK HERE to return to the complete 32nd Philadelphia Film Festival schedule.