Where Arthur’s Dreams Keep Leading Him Underground
| Title: | La Chimera |
| Watchable: |  |
| Director: | Alice Rohrwacher |
| Writer: | Alice Rohrwacher |
| Lead Performances: | Josh O'Connor (Arthur), Isabella Rossellini (Flora), Carol Duarte (Italia) |
Arthur grips his divining rod with extreme force until his body begins to shake violently when he senses dead bodies beneath his feet. Josh O'Connor delivers his performance by showing Arthur as someone who exists between sleep and wakefulness which might be his actual state. Italia explains to Arthur that buried treasures exist for soul vision instead of human eyes which makes him wonder if he has been trying to transform into a soul to join Beniamina in her present darkness.
The Tuscan landscape in Rohrwacher's film appears to be alive. The entire world appears to be alive except for Arthur who walks through it while wearing his dirty linen suit like a spirit who remains unaware of his death. The film shows Arthur in two possible states of awareness about his death. When he dreams about Beniamina a red thread appears between them but it disappears whenever he tries to touch it. The visual representation should be overpowering yet it seems destined to happen because love appears as a tangible force that remains out of reach.
The tombaroli group of grave robbers led by Arthur creates an unusual ethical dilemma. Through their actions of violating sacred sites and taking from deceased persons Rohrwacher presents them as the remaining truthful citizens of Italy. The men steal because they need to survive although this does not justify their actions since it makes them more relatable to human nature. The situation has developed into something that goes beyond what I first described. The world has transformed into a transactional system because of capitalism which these men participate in the system they were born into.
The character of Isabella Rossellini who plays Flora Beniamina's mother evokes deep emotions because she resides in her crumbling palace which echoes the Italian neorealist film character Miss Havisham. The two characters remain frozen in time because they cannot accept their losses which block their ability to progress. Their shared sorrow forms an unshakable bond between them which goes beyond any words that could describe it.
The film shows time through its unsteady changes which produce confusion among audience members. The movie shows Buster Keaton chases in quick succession while also extending certain scenes into prolonged and endless periods. The camera shows waves hitting the shore which makes me lose awareness that I am watching a story about tomb raiders. The film presents time as an archaeological construct which stacks past and present moments on top of each other.
O'Connor spent his time in a camper van while filming while he washed at Lake Bolsena to experience Arthur's sense of displacement. The actor explained his Catholic upbringing taught him about the afterlife and void which made him spend years studying these concepts. The actor brings his intense search for meaning to every scene he acts in. Arthur searches for a doorway instead of treasure because he wants to find his way to Beniamina's unknown destination.
The last scene shows Arthur entering a tomb which appears different from all his previous discoveries which implies his search might lead to a single definitive outcome. The film presents Arthur with an unsettling truth that he might have been correct all along about existing paths between worlds but reaching them would require him to give up everything.
The film explores three main themes which include dirt under fingernails and buried secrets and love as an excavation process that destroys its discoveries.
