A Chiara (15) at South Hill Park
Tue, 13 Sept
|Bracknell
Carpignano keeps the flame for Italian neo-realist tradition alive SIGHT & SOUND
Time & Location
13 Sept 2022, 19:00
Bracknell, Ringmead, Bracknell RG12 7PA, UK
About the Event
Directed by Jonas Carpignano | Drama | Italian |122 mins | Italy | 2021
The Guerrasio family and friends gather to celebrate Claudio and Carmela’s oldest daughter’s 18th birthday. There is a healthy rivalry between the birthday girl and her 15-year-old sister Chiara as they compete on the dancefloor. It is a happy occasion, and the close-knit family are on top form. However, everything changes the next day when the father disappears. Chiara, unconvinced by the cover story, starts to investigate. As she gets closer to the truth, she is forced to decide what kind of future she wants for herself.
Carpignano’s anthropological inquests take the shape of a coming-of-age plot for steely-eyed fifteen-year-old Chiara (Swamy Rotolo). To avoid the sensational appeal discordant to his neorealist ethic, Carpignano leaves much of the violence offscreen, a deft choice that also places us in line with Chiara’s fearful curiosity about what happened and what it means. We can see this world through the accessible vantage of an outsider, horrified and yet drawn in all the same.
Instantly engaging THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER