A Chiara Review: Compelling Italian Drama Is Engaging & Thematically Rich

Claudio Rotolo in A Chiara
Though young and dangerously out of her depth, Chiara is a force of determination, and the movie moves along at the steady pace she sets. Its momentum is such that the viewer rarely stops to think unless Carpignano wants them to, processing events only in terms of how Chiara feels about them until a bit of dialogue suddenly brings the bigger picture into focus. Since these are her relatives she’s hounding, she doesn’t feel like she’s ever in any physical danger, and for the longest time, the scenes don’t play that way for the audience, either. This is in large part because the non-professional cast are all the real-life family of the star, and their affection for her comes across as totally genuine. How is hearing about her father’s criminality supposed to outweigh the reality of the person she has experienced all her life? How is a grisly ‘Ndrangheta anecdote supposed to convince the viewer that the Claudio they have met could ever harm his daughter?

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What’s clever about A Chiara‘s approach to this topic is that it never really tries to convince its audience that this girl’s journey could end in violence. As she works to bang down the door of the criminal underworld, it becomes clear the threat is not really to her body, but her soul. Chiara is not an interloper; the answers she demands will be given to her freely, if she would just wait until she is old enough to hear them. It gradually becomes clear, perhaps more quickly for the viewer than for Chiara, that what she’s really uncovered is a glimpse at her own future — at least the one her family has laid out for her. Once the dramatic question becomes whether this 15-year-old girl can escape her fate by seeking the truth, and whether she’ll even want to if she finds it, A Chiara becomes a gripping watch.

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Swamy Rotolo in A Chiara
Carpignano doesn’t let the narrative and performances do all the work, however, and a number of subjective filmmaking touches add thematic depth to Chiara’s struggle. Sound design plays a major role here, dropping out in places as the protagonist feels the weight of a choice she doesn’t yet know she has to make, but somehow seems to anticipate. A motif of her running on a treadmill, in the moment a direct metaphor for her predicament, becomes a compelling key for understanding the movie’s ending without, thankfully, smothering the possibility for multiple interpretations. A Chiara is a movie one not only enjoys watching unfold, but sitting with, mulling over, and discussing with friends in the days that follow. Viewers would do well not to let it pass them by.

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A Chiara released in theaters Friday, May 27. The film is 121 minutes long and is rated R for some language and drug content.

Our Rating:
4 out of 5 (Excellent)

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