"La Chimera" Puts a High Price on the Past

Clinging to the vestiges of the past, Arthur's gift for finding lost things is exploited, making him (and us) question if a clean, untainted reverence for the past has a place in the modern world

Spoilers ahead.

In 2023’s La Chimera [Trailer], a magic realism film by Italian director Alice Rohrwacher, Arthur (Josh O’Connor) plays a wayward, disheveled Englishman in 1980s Italy who has a talent for uncovering the sites of Etruscan treasures. For most of the film, Arthur is seen walking around in a grubby, creme-colored linen suit, his fingernails full of dirt, scratches on his face, and scarcely washing himself or caring for himself at all. The connection to earth and the ground is a visual and visceral one. Arthur’s gift for retrieving lost things is borne from his emotional and physical connection to them - to relics of that past. It also sends the message that Arthur, for all his gifts, has zero material wants or needs. This contrasts greatly with the company he keeps, who seek to exploit his gifts for their self-interests and greed.

Arthur serves as the sole completely virtuous character in the film, representing the audience's perspective. Ironically, the film begins with what we expect is his return from serving time in prison for an unknown crime. In one scene toward the midpoint of the film, when Arthur finally relents to the peer pressure of the tombaroli (grave robbers), he roots through the dark with the robbers on his heel, as he utilizes his very low-fidelity wooden sticks fashioned into the shape of a wishbone, to find treasure by feeling his way to it. When he finally uncovers the breathtaking artifacts, one in particular, a marble statue of a nature goddess, Artume, captures his attention. At that moment, the viewer, like Arthur, is spellbound, in a trance, acknowledging that such beauty is “not made for human eyes” (a common refrain in the film).

Suddenly, in a shocking display of brutality, the tombaroli decapitate the prized statue, attempting to remove it from its resting place. This act of desecration jolts Arthur from his contemplative state. Driven by an urgent need to safeguard the remaining artwork, he springs into action. Arthur adopts an intimidating stance, using his physical presence to deter any further attacks on the precious artifacts. His imposing figure and stern demeanor serve as a formidable deterrent, silently warning potential vandals of the consequences should they dare to approach.

Side Note: I deplore violence in films, but the subtlety of this scene is so much more shocking than any glorified bloodbath or torture scene in other films. There are a number of ways that the film feels feminine, but this distinction here is one of them. We don’t need to see bodies slayed to know loss and grief are present.

The head of the bust, locks Arthur in its trance

The Love Myth

“Everyone has their own Chimera, something they try to achieve but can never find. For Arthur, the Chimera is the woman he lost, Beniamina.” - Description of film

While Arthur possesses an apparently supernatural gift for finding buried treasures, his motivations are more nuanced than simply seeking wealth. Arthur's primary quest is to reunite with his deceased girlfriend, Beniamina, suggesting a deeper emotional drive behind his actions. In an interview, Alice Rohrwacher, the director, points to the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice in explaining the tortured love between Arthur and his one true love, Beniamina, who we see in flashback moments interspersed throughout the film, glimpsing her face and the red thread (literal) of her dress being pulled. As such, this is a doomed love tale, and we know this from the get-go.

Arthur’s sadness points to his inability to recover from her unconfirmed but strongly suggested death. As Flora (Isabella Rossellini), Beniamina’s mother, is one of Arthur’s allies. Their relationship is complex, as while she’s protective of Arthur, she’s also feeding off his grief. Flora has a gaggle of daughters whose relationship with their mother is predatory, and Arthur and Flora often spend their time together in the presence of these other women. These women are often found gossiping out loud about Flora’s kind carer, Italia (Carol Duarte), a symbolic maternal stand-in for “home,” not only for Arthur but for the children she cares for.

Italia (Duarte) with Arthur (O’Connor) before the Fall

A romantic, soulmate kind of spark is lit between Italia and Arthur, and you sense that perhaps Arthur will choose life, as represented by a happy future with Italia, but when he sneaks out of her bed, you know it’s toward darkness and inevitable death. Sure enough, the presence of the red thread, fully pulled through, and Beniamina’s bright-colored dress tells us all we need to know about this story’s end.

Reflecting on Arthur’s journey, there appears to be a compelling parallel between Arthur and Christ. Throughout his quest, Arthur suffers and gradually sheds his pretenses. His final quest for treasure, driven by the greed of others and undertaken for their sake (and their sins), ultimately leads to his demise. This narrative arc bears striking similarities to Christ's journey.

“We are here to estimate the inestimable.” - Spartaco, the Art Dealer Thief

Real World Meets Film Fiction

In the past two years, the discovery of real-life Tombaroli thefts of Etruscan tombs and the repatriation of stolen artifacts have been hot-ticket news items. [Reuters]

Summary

La Chimera is a spectacular film and easily one of the top films I’ve seen this year. Its infusion of magical, surreal moments works well with realism. The nuance didn’t feel out of context, and it seeped into a complementary rhythm with Arthur’s growing distance from the material world around him. A cautionary tale of the woes of opportunism and transactional (monetary) currency destroying the soul of our culture is always a timely subject, especially when we weigh the worth of our creative pursuits, [here on Substack, too] and the work we put out into the world. The tension between old and new and the vexing challenges of exploitation of goodness and purity in the world are ones that will haunt me from this film. The mark of a good film is if I care to remember it the next day; a great film is if the messages and themes it brings forth are ones I carry with me, long after, however burdensome.

Misc

• For more on La Chimera, check out this post by

  Joanne Thornborough
    - The “Josh O’Connor Appreciation Society,” which has been well intact since The Durrells in Corfu on PBS. Ha! Yes, WAY before The Crown, and eons before Challengers.

• HBO has all my TV viewing love lately. Between my go-to life-affirming dramedy, Somebody, Somewhere, and detective/ noir fare, Get Millie Black, Sundays, and Mondays are my happy TV viewing days.