Alice Rohrwacher's fourth feature film, La Chimera , established her as one of the most vital, distinct voices in contemporary European cinema. Included in numerous critical evaluations as one of the Best Movies of 2024 upon its international rollout, the film completes Rohrwacher’s unofficial "Tuscia Trilogy," alongside Le meraviglie (2014) and Lazzaro felice (2018).
Set in the 1980s in the sun-scorched, rural landscape of Tuscany, the film follows Arthur (Josh O’Connor), a scruffy, melancholic British archaeologist who has just been released from prison. Upon his return, he reunites with a ragtag gang of tombaroli —petty thieves who illegally plunder the pre-Roman Etruscan tombs that are buried just beneath the Italian soil. Arthur possesses a strange and invaluable gift: he is a dowser, able to locate hidden burial chambers using nothing but a forked stick. When he feels the presence of a tomb, he falls into a trance, marking the spot for his eager accomplices.
The film thrives on the friction between several contrasting elements:
Yet, while the tombaroli chase the chimera of quick wealth, Arthur chases a completely different illusion. He is a man trapped in a profound state of mourning, searching for his lost love, . For Arthur, digging into the earth is not a financial venture; it is a literal and metaphysical attempt to breach the underworld, channeling the ancient myth of Orpheus descending into Hades to retrieve his beloved. Themes: The Sacred vs. The Commodified
Rohrwacher is a master of layering ancient stories onto modern realities. The title references the Chimera of Greek myth—a monstrous hybrid of lion, goat, and serpent that breathes fire and represents the impossible. But in the film, the "Chimera" takes on multiple meanings. La Chimera
Used to capture the grandeur, texture, and deep rich tones of the Italian landscape.
At its core, La Chimera is a modern retelling of the ancient myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Arthur, like Orpheus, is a musician of sorts—an archaeologist whose true instrument is his divining rod—who descends into the underworld (the Etruscan tombs) in a desperate attempt to retrieve his lost love. The film constantly blurs the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead. The tombaroli are not merely criminals; they are intermediaries, violently breaking into the resting places of the dead to bring their treasures into the light of the modern world. Rohrwacher suggests that history is never truly buried; it is a living, breathing entity that coexists with the present, and the film questions how we bear the weight of the past while living in the now.
In an era of franchise blockbusters and algorithmic storytelling, La Chimera feels like a sacred artifact itself. It is a film that demands patience, rewards curiosity, and ultimately breaks your heart.
A recurring visual anchor in the movie is a literal and figurative red thread. It symbolizes the connection between the inner and outer worlds, life and death, and Arthur's mythological descent into the underworld—echoing Ariadne's thread from Greek myth. Alice Rohrwacher's fourth feature film, La Chimera ,
First described in Homer's Iliad , the Chimera was a monstrous, fire-breathing hybrid creature of Lycia, possessing the body of a lion, a head of a goat protruding from its back, and a snake for a tail.
This informative paper explores La Chimera (2023), the critically acclaimed film by Italian director Alice Rohrwacher
For viewers in the United States and UK, the release was a slow burn. Neon acquired the distribution rights, rolling it out in arthouse cinemas throughout the spring of 2024. It is currently available on digital platforms and streaming on MUBI, where it has found a second life as a cult favorite among cinephiles.
La Chimera is not a film for passive consumption. It is slow, meditative, and deliberately ambiguous. The characters speak a mix of Italian, English, and an invented Etruscan dialect. The plot meanders like a river. But for those willing to sink into its wavelength, it offers a rare cinematic experience. Upon his return, he reunites with a ragtag
Melds historical realism with folkloric fantasy; firmly rejects patriarchal and capitalistic structures in favor of community and care for the earth.
Josh O'Connor delivers a career-defining performance, portraying Arthur not as a mythic hero, but as a deeply flawed, grief-stricken human wrestling with his own internal morality.
The novel tells the tragic story of Antonia, a beautiful orphan girl adopted by a peasant family in a small village near Novara. Because of her independent nature, striking looks, and refusal to conform to societal expectations, she is targeted by the Holy Inquisition and eventually burned at the stake as a witch.