To Chiara

April 27, 2022

In Drama, Review, Theatrical, This Week by Dov KornitsLeave a Comment

There are far too many pregnant pauses, and what’s more they are – as it were – phantom pregnancies …
Mark Demetrius
Year: 2021
Rating: M
Director: Jonas Carpignano
Cast:

Swamy Rotolo, Claudio Rotolo, Carmela Fumo, Grecia Rotolo

Distributor: Palace Films
Released: May 12, 2022
Running Time: 122 minutes
Worth: $12.00

FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth

There are far too many pregnant pauses, and what’s more they are – as it were – phantom pregnancies …

This is the third film in a trilogy, but that’s not a problem as it stands alone well enough. What IS a problem is that it could have done with serious editing, and there are excruciating longueurs. Fortunately, there are compelling moments too.

The story proper – set in Calabria – begins at the 18th birthday party of Giulia (Grecia Rotolo), one of two sisters of the central character, 15-year-old Chiara (Swamy Rotolo). It’s a seemingly interminable scene, though to be fair it – and other sustained vistas of family life – are justified retrospectively to some extent as background to what follows. Less defensible is the excessive use of atmospheric music, general loudness and protracted close-ups by way of compensation for a simple plot. There are far too many pregnant pauses, and what’s more they are – as it were – phantom pregnancies, because they signify nothing beyond the obvious.

So far, so-so. To Chiara eventually gets much better, however, as we start to follow Chiara’s dogged attempt to find out what exactly her beloved but enigmatic and reserved father Claudio (Claudio Rotolo) is up to. He is, it turns out [SPOILER ALERT], working for ‘Ndrangheta (the Calabrian mafia). As she ‘closes in’ on him – and thereafter – the pace picks up, the cinematography becomes lyrical, and Chiara’s strong character makes quite an impression. The unfortunate paradox is that it’s this more generic crime-movie material which succeeds, while the relatively original component – showing the personal cost to a mafioso’s family – often doesn’t.

Worth seeing, but not memorable.

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