Everyone has their own Chimera, something they try to achieve but never manage to find. For the band of tombaroli, thieves of ancient grave goods and archaeological wonders, the Chimera means redemption from work and the dream of easy wealth. For Arthur, the Chimera looks like the woman he lost, Beniamina. To find her, Arthur challenges the invisible, searches everywhere, goes inside the earth – in search of the door to the afterlife of which myths speak. A film by Alice Rohrwacher, starring Josh O’Connor, Carol Duarte, Vincenzo Nemolato, Alba Rohrwacher, and Isabella Rossellini.

In 1980s, after being released from prison, Arthur (Josh O’Connor), a British man, takes a train back to Riparbella. He falls asleep and has a dream about a young woman (Yile Yara Vianello), presumably his lover. Then, Arthur is awakened by controllore / train conductor (Alessandro Genovesi) who comes in to check passengers’ tickets. Instead of handing over the ticket, Arthur gives him a piece of paper, which the train conductor reads and hands back to Arthur.

Riparbella is a small town in the Pisa province of Tuscany, Italy, known for its picturesque setting. The town dates back to 1034 and is named after its sandy white tufa soil (“Ripa Albella” in Latin, meaning “white bank”). Riparbella faced a challenging period under the dominion of Florence and during feuds in 1448. The feuds involved strategic deceptions and alliances between various captains like Federico da Montefeltro, Alessandro Sforza, and Malatesta, leading to conflicts and shifting allegiances.

Arthur has a brief conversation with three women who are sitting in the same cabin and seem interested in him. Their conversation is interrupted by venditore ambulante / vendor (Cristiano Piazzati) who attempts to sell socks and perfume to Arthur. Arthur steps outside to smoke, but the vendor continues to convince the women to buy his things. Annoyed, Arthur violently pushes the vendor and smacks him in the face with his fist, which shocks the women in the cabin. As a result, they quietly leave and relocate to the nearby compartment instead.

Upon arriving at the station in Riparbella, Arthur is spotted by Pirro (Vincenzo Nemolato), his Italian fellow friend who was notified by Spartaco that Arthur would be back today. Ignored, Arthur walks away quickly. Pirro hops in his car and follows Arthur, telling him that Spartaco, presumably their employer, paid the lawyer to get him released from prison. It appears that Pirro and Arthur were on a job the night Arthur got arrested because they didn’t realize Arthur had fallen behind. Arthur eventually gets in the car, requesting Pirro take him home. However, Pirro takes him to see the rest of the crew, infuriating Arthur even further.

Arthur walks to Flora’s house, where he meets Italia (Carol Duarte), a woman who lives there taking care of Flora. In return, Flora teaches Italia how to sing, even though Flora constantly tells Italia she is tone-deaf and can’t sing a proper tune. Arthur asks Italia to take him to Flora. Arthur asks Italia to take him to see Flora. Flora (Isabella Rossellini) is pleased to see Arthur. Flora tells Italia that Arthur is her daughter Beniamina’s boyfriend. At this point, we don’t know if Beniamina has left somewhere, or if she’s no longer in this world.

The next day, Flora sends Italia to bring Arthur a thermometer and a thermos bottle to his home up on a small hill. Italia accidentally grabs a small tree, and it falls down, revealing a hidden compartment underneath, but it is empty. Confused and angry, Arthur picks up the tree and heads to confront Pirro, accusing him of stealing his hidden treasures. Pirro explains that they only safeguard his things for him during his time in prison, as the police were rummaging around after Arthur got arrested.

It is revealed that Arthur is a member of a group whose public face is pretending to make their livings as farmers and entertainers. But in fact, they are Tombaroli, a crew of grave robbers who break into ancient Etruscan tombs for earthenware and ornaments, selling them on the black market in hopes of one day striking it rich. Arthur possesses a unique supernatural gift allowing him to perceive things hidden beneath the ground.

Written and directed by Italian filmmaker Alice Rohrwacher, La Chimera feels like an excruciatingly slow burn movie. The first 40 minutes offer little action, and some viewers might even fall asleep watching it at home. The film is filled with ambiguities and things that the film never explicitly explains. Some sequences feel dreamlike or hallucinatory.

The narrative never quite shows us what the protagonist is actually looking for in the first half of the film. The second half is filled with montage footage of the Tombaroli crew robbing graves in different locations. They are sometimes seen hiding or running away from the police. Italian folk songs accompany these scenes, explaining what the crew is doing.

However, I kind of like the ending that the protagonist finally finds what he has been searching for, his lost love. Although that’s just the conclusion the film implies, as it could mean differently from a different perspective.

La CHIMERA premiered at Festival de Cannes on 26 May 2023, where it was selected to compete for the Palme d’Or. The film was theatrically released in Italy on 23 November.