La Chimera

i think female directors understand that films are meant to be felt more so than read. there was an obvious path to take with this film. a simple A leads to B and B leads to C story, but Alice Rohrwacher takes it beyond that and creates this captivating, complex but equally as simple story. i think the closest a male director as gotten to this level of story telling is Terrence Mallick, but even he goes over the top at times like in Tree of Life where there’s a poorly CGI-ed dinosaur randomly in the middle. Alice Rohrwacher understands how and when to use these inserts, preventing them from becoming tedious or pretentious. as Clair Denis said about Chantal Akerman, she has complete trust in the camera, knowing exactly how long a scene could last for and how long it should last for. it’s one of those films that changes your life whilst remaining subtle. it’s never in your face. the visuals are perfect. i haven’t been this in awe of camera work since La Haine. the soundtrack fits incredibly well and elevates the entire film. i find it hard to tell how good acting is when they speak a language i don’t, but i could really tell with this film that all the performances were great. potent, life changing, perfect