La Chimera

Short Take - The phrase comes from the film industry, originally, and it means a short bit of recording or “something that only takes a short time,” especially if a longer version may be done later.

Short Take review: A short review of a film with potential discussion points

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ (out of 5)

Summary: Celebrated Italian writer/director Alice Rohrwacher (Happy as Lazzaro) takes into the spiritual side of grave robbers or the tombola who seek to find that rare artefact that will provide them with the wealth they yearn to see. Yet, deeper than gaining riches, Arthur (Josh O'Connor) yearns to reconnect with the woman he lost, Beniamina (Yile Vianello). Set in the 1980s, these unlikely archeologists do all they can to discover the rare treasures buried across Italy throughout the ages. Along the way, Arthur meets a young mother who serves one of the local personalities, singer and teacher, Flora (Isabella Rossellini). Italia (Carol Duarte) has secrets of her own that the treasurer hunter hopes to unearth as his motley crew searches for Chimera, a god-like female statue.

Review: These two parallel storylines expose the fine line between archeology and treasure hunting. As they eventually cross over, Rohrwacher manages to show the spiritual side of these discoveries and how there is more to this work than mere history. She delves into the grieving soul and how her protagonist is doing more than searching for artefacts as he searches his soul for the woman he lost. La Chimera takes twists and turns through the otherworldly realms of past and present while providing the audience with a raw depiction of the layers of the human heart. A tale for the artistically minded and those with a gift for seeing past the story to see the true meaning of what is being told.

Reel Dialogue: Is death the end?

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. - Psalm 34:18

Death is one of the certainties of life, but we all respond differently when confronted with it. Fortunately, God does not leave people without an answer during these times of grief. He is a God who can truly weep with those who are weeping, because his Son died, too. He is near to the brokenhearted and can provide hope during a time that will inevitably affect everyone in one way or another.

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