La Chimera Jun 2026

At the beginning of the film, Arthur is released from prison. Disheveled and heartbroken, he returns to a small town in Tuscany. He is grieving the loss of his great love, , an Italian woman who has recently died under mysterious circumstances. Arthur moves into the dilapidated home of Beniamina’s mother, Flora (Isabella Rossellini), a faded aristocrat living in poverty.

In a stunning, wordless sequence that blends live-action with stop-motion animation (a Rohrwacher signature), Arthur enters a crimson, cavernous womb. He finds Beniamina. As the rope snaps and the tunnel collapses behind him, Arthur smiles. He is finally home. La Chimera

Director Alice Rohrwacher and cinematographer Hélène Louvart utilize a unique visual style to blur the lines between reality and myth. By mixing , they create a texture that feels both ancient and immediate. At the beginning of the film, Arthur is released from prison

In one memorable scene, a snobbish archaeologist calmly explains that the tombaroli are destroying history. But the film invites us to sympathize with the diggers. They see their work as a redistribution of ancestral heritage. If the artifacts are going to rot underground, why shouldn't they be used to feed a hungry family? Arthur moves into the dilapidated home of Beniamina’s

La Chimera was critically acclaimed upon its release in 2023. Josh O'Connor received particular praise for his physical, wordless performance—speaking Italian with a British accent and communicating largely through weary glances and frantic movement. The film was celebrated for its originality, blending humor, tragedy, and folklore into a cohesive meditation on love and loss.

Rohrwacher’s genius is that she does not offer a solution. The film ends not with a bang, but with a mythic descent. Without spoiling the final sequence, suffice it to say that Arthur finally finds the door he was looking for—and what is on the other side is both terrifying and transcendent.

The title also refers to one of the most famous poems by the "maudit" Italian poet , included in his 1914 collection Canti Orfici .