La Chimera [top] Jun 2026
: The title refers to a chimera —an unattainable wish or illusion. For Arthur, this is his desperate longing to reunite with his lost love, Beniamina.
La Chimera was often depicted as a hybrid creature with the body of a lion, the head of a goat, and the tail of a serpent. In some accounts, it was said to have wings, similar to those of an eagle, which allowed it to soar through the skies and attack its victims from above. Its body was often described as being enormous, with some accounts suggesting that it was as large as a small mountain. La Chimera
In the rolling hills of modern-day Tuscany, where the Etruscan underground is as rich with history as the soil is with olives, director Alice Rohrwacher has crafted a cinematic fable that feels both ancient and urgently new. La Chimera (2023) is not merely a film; it is a requiem for the dead, a heist comedy for the melancholic, and a philosophical treatise on the dangers of looking backward. : The title refers to a chimera —an
, a bedraggled Englishman newly released from prison. Driven by a desperate longing for his lost love, Beniamina, he uses a dowsing rod to locate hidden tombs for a rowdy band of grave robbers known as A Mythological Quest : The film is often described as a modern retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice In some accounts, it was said to have
Rohrwacher creates a tension between the ancient Etruscans—who were buried with objects for their journey—and the modern characters who steal those objects for profit. The tombaroli desecrate history to survive, while Arthur desecrates his own life by refusing to let go of it. The arrival of Italia represents the "living" world that Arthur is ignoring.