CANNES 2021: A Chiara
CANNES/MK2In Jonas Carpignano's A Chiara, audiences might have just been treated with one of the best – if not the best – features at Cannes 2021 thus far.
Seeing this dramatic and mysterious film with utterly no context undoubtedly adds to the characters' peril and mindset, but Carpignano's film expertly examines teenage angst, dynamics of family and questions of morality. On these themes alone, with no further acknowledgements of plot, A Chiara is a fascinating and often exhilarating venture. However, what makes this feature all the more different and please be reminded …
– SPOILERS AHEAD –
… A Chiara is a feature that examines such poignant and gripping parameters in a guise through the lens of a fifteen-year-old girl that has to come to terms with the notion that her family is a part of the Italian mafia.
For the films first act, A Chiara plays more like a mystery of sorts. The characters and the audience know that something is not quite right. An idyllic atmosphere and family dynamic soon rupture into a inexplicable disappearance, and the world ultimately shatters for fifteen-year-old Chiara, played by the outstanding Swamy Rotolo, and, in turn, she begins to question not only her lifestyle but which direction she must take.
From a physiological standpoint, A Chiara makes an incredibly rich telling of what must be done in order to survive. From good to bad, the definition is not only blurred, but it bleeds into motives and desperations. At no point does Carpignano's feature glamorise or portray the mafioso's behaviour in a positive light but a reflection of its true behaviour and reality. It illustrates Chiara's choices and merits all the more organic and, in turn, identifies an incredible performance and actress in Rotolo who is far beyond her years in a magnetic and striking depiction of grief, of which develops without the notion of death. It is an internalised and often stoic depiction but one that broods in its deafening silence, only when the film wants to touch upon explosive emotional outbursts in brutal and scene-stealing fashion.
The pacing for a running time for just over two hours is done to utter perfection. Granted, the film pauses and reflects on occasion, but never with ego, and gives Rotolo moments to expose her character’s emotional stance and the film a little more energy and tension. Equally as impressive is how Jonas Carpignano and cinematographer Tim Curtin capture the reality and grittiness of the situation.
Forming itself in handheld camera work depicts the moments of family life and the opening birthday party in tenderness and authenticity as if to place the viewer in a moment of love and passion. However, the exact same thing can be said for moments of more severe and criminal intent. Therefore, the exact investing nature of being on the right side is felt on the wrong, and the uncomfortably equally as effective.
A Chiara is nothing short of excellent. It is an invigorating character study with a magnetic central performance from Swamy Rotolo, who is masterly in the title role. Expertly shot by Tim Curtin and written and directed to perfection by Jonas Carpignano, A Chiara is a spectacular feature that is undeniably one to watch.
