Beautiful little Italian-language arthouse drama “A Chiara” written and directed by Jonas Carpignano has been released in cinemas this week in Germany. Set in a Calabrian town it follows teenage girl Chiara looking for her father, whose disappearance in the night of her sister’s 18th birthday seems to be related to the local mafia.
Shot on location in Calabria it features an all non-professional cast with the real-life Rotolo family portraying the family members in the film and the great Swamy Rotolo in the leading role. Using a naturalistic style it always stays with the perspective of Chiara on her search for her father and powerfully depicts a teenage world losing its stability. The concept works really well and only in a few moments a little unpolished improvised dialogue or acting is noticeable. The plot reminds a little of the excellent 2010 coming-of-age mystery drama film “Winter’s Bone” by Debra Granik, where Jennifer Lawrence’s teenage girl character is also looking for her father in a large family related to crime in rural Missouri.
A nice little entry in Italian arthouse cinema that’s worthwile.
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