Grave robbing in Ireland has deep historical roots, tied closely with disturbing Victorian practices. Notably, infamous Irish murderers William Burke and William Hare engaged in a killing spree in 1828, slaying 16 individuals to sell their bodies to Robert Knox, an anatomist based in Edinburgh. During that same year, James McCartney, an Anatomy Professor at Dublin’s Trinity College, confessed to a parliamentary committee about employing ‘body snatchers’ to deliver corpses for educational purposes.
Elsewhere in Europe, grave-robbery is a relatively modern occurrence. Alice Rohrwacher, the filmmaker, conducted interviews with numerous Italian grave robbers or ‘tombaroli’ for her fourth cinematic feature. These tombaroli operated throughout the hilly Italian midlands, where Rohrwacher spent her formative years. Grave-robbing in Italy remains a pertinent issue, indeed 266 pilfered artefacts, inclusive of Etruscan vessels, were returned to Italy last year from American museums and personal holdings.
Rohrwacher states that tombs’ pillaging, as illustrated in her film, would not have been conceivable until the 1980s since the objects within were traditionally regarded as spiritual and sacred, inspiring respect and trepidation in those who discovered them. Even farmers, who found golden items, refrained from taking them due to the perception that such objects were the possessions of the deceased and hence linked to peril. She conveys that the symbolic meaning ascribed to grave goods superseded their tangible worth and graves were avoided due to their affiliation with death and the afterlife. However, the 1980s prompted a drastic alteration in perspectives. The symbolic significance of objects vanished, reducing them to mere commodities and created a thriving market for tomb raiding.
In La Chimera film, Josh O’Connor plays the British archaeologist character, known for his uncanny knack for locating graves as well as his penchant for creased colonial linens, who becomes involved with a criminal group in the 1980s. His unlawful excavations target Etruscan relics, serving as adventurous stunts as well as metaphoric representations of lost love. Despite being the object of tombarolo Pirro’s (Vincenzo Nemolato) affections, his heart pines for his lost sweetheart Beniamina, the daughter of villa owner Flora (Isabella Rossellini).
Rohrwacher detailed that a key experimental approach in the film was incorporating starkly opposing elements. As introduced in the opening scene on a train, Josh’s character is surrounded by attractive women, only to encounter an unsavoury interaction with a salesman. This set up immediately hints at the character’s psychological issues. However, this perception is suddenly shaken with the overture of Monteverdi’s Orfeo which paints him as a romantic hero, albeit quite an absurd one. His character’s romanticism starkly contrasts from the cold realities of the world around him.
O’Connor, an avid fan of Rohrwacher and well-known for his role in Challengers, was eager to work with her after watching her award-winning film, Happy as Lazzarro. Winning best screenplay at Cannes in 2018. He immersed himself in the role during La Chimera shoot, going to the extent of living in a camper van, bathing in a lake, learning Italian and some sign language. These skills he acquired will be helpful in his next project, Rosebushpruning, a remake of Marco Bellocchio’s film, ‘Fists in the Pocket’ where he stars alongside Kristen Stewart and Elle Fanning.
Rohrwacher admitted that having Josh on set was a decided revelation. Even though she had prior doubts about his age suitability for the role, she was more than surprised by his ability to transcend time with his performance. This led her to recraft the character with him in mind, and in constant discussions with him. She highlighted his profound love for ceramics, poetry, and architecture and his uncanny ability to comprehend the aura of objects. Besides, she also lauded his rare generosity and imagination as an actor.
Born to Italian and German parents, Rohrwacher’s upbringing in Umbria, an Italian village, and her father’s beekeeping greatly influenced her work. Her alma mater is the University of Turin where she studied classics and later pursued screenwriting. She used her rural childhood experiences in her film ‘Happy as Lazzaro’, employing local Umbrians as cast and using a tobacco crop as an integral element to her film’s distinct quasi-feudal fantasy drama.
Rohrwacher, a native of Italy, remarks how the country’s rich archaeological history is always underfoot, revealed through tiny fragments of antiquity. These miniature relics reveal history’s depth and compel Rohrwacher to view time differently, considering both past and present. The question Rohrwacher presents is what will we leave behind for future archaeologists once we become part of the past.
Rohrwacher’s unique storytelling has achieved esteemed recognition with her first feature film, The Wonders, earning the Grand Prix at the 2014 Cannes Festival. Furthermore, her short film, Le Pupille, secured an Oscar nomination in 2023. Rohrwacher’s films are a distinct blend of Italian cinema and borrow elements from Roberto Rossellini’s neorealism, Lina Wertmüller’s comedy, Federico Fellini’s festivities, and Pier Paolo Pasolini’s spirituality.
Rohrwacher claims an affection for Pasolini’s work, enamoured by its poetic form, which she seeks to emulate in her own films. She hopes her films carry a parabolic quality, focussing on destiny rather than psychology.
Rohrwacher’s dedication to preserving Italian cinema is integral to La Chimera’s dualistic essence. Alongside esteemed cinematographer Hélène Louvart, Rohrwacher alternates between 35mm and Super16 film types.
Rohrwacher divulges how her time at university sparked an interest in cinema history and its connection with reality and various art forms she admires. This prompted her to seek out cinema’s greatest works, underlining again how she views cinema as having its archaeological past.
La Chimera will be shown in theatres beginning May 10th.