La Chimera: Josh O'Connor Shines in Alice Rohrwacher's Surreal Italian Drama

La Chimera, a surreal drama set in 1980s northern Italy, follows the story of Arthur Harrison, a penniless English archaeologist played by Josh O'Connor, who searches for redemption through one last great find amidst his illegal tomb looting activities. Directed by acclaimed Italian filmmaker Alice Rohrwacher, the film blends poetic arthouse imagery with romantic drama, exploring how grief affects us.

Arthur is a tombarolo, a grave robber who scours the hills of what was once Etruria, an ancient civilization that thrived from the 7th to the 3rd century BC. With his gift of divination, he sniffs out ancient Etruscan graves and uncovers treasure troves of artifacts buried with the dead. Rohrwacher's story is "oblique and whimsical" yet rooted in the tradition of Italian neorealism, evoking the works of Pasolini, the Tavianis, and Roberto Rossellini.

Rohrwacher, born in Tuscany where the tombaroli have long plied their illicit trade, studied ancient literature, Greek, and Latin at college. She sees filmmaking as akin to archaeology, giving meaning to things that happened in the past. La Chimera explores the themes of death, the beyond, and the connection between the past and present, while condemning the tombaroli for their intrusion and desecration of ancient tombs.

The film features a mix of local non-actors and established talent, including Isabella Rossellini as Flora, the late lover's mother who has a soft spot for Arthur. O'Connor, known for his roles in The Crown and Challengers, lends the character "a downbeat charisma and genuine sense of pain," according to David Fear of Rolling Stone.

La Chimera has received critical acclaim, winning the Best Screenplay and Grand Prize of the Jury at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. Manohla Dargis of The New York Times praises its ability to "sneak up on you," while Carlos Aguilar of the LA Times calls it a "towering work of art." Rohrwacher's visual style is described as "appealing and demonstrably unshowy," revealing beauty without pomp.

Set in the 1980s when grave robbing and antique trafficking were rife in Italy, La Chimera highlights the importance of preserving cultural heritage and the damage caused by illegal tomb looting. Today, Italy has a robust taskforce for protecting and retrieving stolen artifacts, including the Blue Helmets for Culture, a collaboration between the Carabinieri and UNESCO. Rohrwacher urges the audience to learn more about the Etruscan civilization and the significance of safeguarding our shared past.