“A Chiara (2022).” Though it may sound like one at a time, Chiara is not the next movie in the human sense. Tied to the vision of its 15-year-old character, yes, but even as she tries to seduce her there, the film is not designed to trace her transition from childhood to (younger) adults. Instead, the concept of “growth over the years” director Jonas Carpignano aims to explore.
Established by a social and family structure that strongly emphasizes the milestone of growth, to a degree that seems to be the worst, A Chiara is committing a crime by enforcing this child’s right to self-determination by disclosing how easy it is for someone. imprisonment in a life they would not have chosen for themselves.
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A Chiara (2022) Movie Review
The Italian-language drama set in the Southern region of Calabria begins as Chiara (Swamy Rotolo) and her family come together to celebrate the 18th birthday of her sister Giulia (Grecia Rotolo). The excitement of the talk and dance dawned later that night when a car was bombed outside Chiara’s home and saw her father, Claudio (Claudio Rotolo), fleeing on foot.
When the girl’s mother, Carmela (Carmela Fumo), refuses to look for answers by telling her that she is too young and understandable, she is frustrated but not discouraged. When she hears the news that Claudio is wanted by the authorities about ‘Ndrangheta, a deep-rooted mafia in her area, she decides to find him by doing one thing that could put him in great danger: Asking questions.
Though young and out of her depths, Chiara is a force to be reckoned with, and the movie is moving at a steady pace that she sets. Its emphasis is that the viewer rarely stops to think except when Carpignano wants to, considering events only in the way Chiara feels until a small dialogue suddenly brings a big picture. Since these are her hunting relatives, she does not feel like she has been in physical danger, and for too long, the scenes do not play that way even for viewers.
This is because the non-professional actors are the real family of the star’s life, and their love for him seems to be completely true. How should hearing about her father’s crime transcend the reality of a person who has been through it all her life? How about an anecdote of ‘Violent Brotherhood that should convince viewers that Claudio they met may hurt his daughter?
What’s clever about A Chiara’s handling of the topic is that she never tries to convince her audience that this girl’s journey could end in violence. As she works to break down the door of the underground criminal, it is clear that the threat is not really in her body, but in her soul. Chiara is not the person she is talking to; the answers she wants will be given to him for free as long as he can wait until she is old enough to hear.
Little by little it becomes clear, perhaps sooner than the viewer than Chiara, that she has not really revealed the glories of her future – at least the one her family has set for him. When the puzzling question becomes whether a 15-year-old girl can escape her destiny by seeking the truth and whether she will seek it out, A Chiara becomes an attractive watch.
Carpignano does not allow narratives and plays to do all the work, however, and many of the filmmaking touches of the film add to the depth of the theme in Chiara’s struggle. Sound design plays a big role here, stopping playing in places where the main character feels the weight of the choice she does not know what to do, but somehow seems to expect it.
The nature of her running on the treadmill, currently the direct metaphor for her problem, becomes a compelling key to understanding the end of the film without, thankfully, closing the door for more interpretation. Chiara is a film not only fun to watch unfold but to live with, discuss, and chat with friends in the days to come. Viewers can do well if they do not let it pass.
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