Written and directed by Carolina Cavalli, Holly spends days at her dead-end job fantasizing about holes in the space-time continuum and wondering where her life went wrong. When she meets Arabella, an eight-year-old rebel hoping to run away from her self-absorbed author father, Holly becomes convinced their meeting is a cosmic sign, and that Arabella is, in fact, her past self sent back for a second chance, and they embark on a road trip. Starring: Benedetta Porcaroli, Lucrezia Guglielmino, Chris Pine, Roberto Zibetti, Marco Bonadei, Eva Robin’s and Margareth Madè.
It’s fair to say that the road trip formula has been very well travelled at this point, and is feeling somewhat tired, it just takes the right sort of film to come around and reinvigorate it, The Kidnapping of Arabella is one of those films. Carolina Cavalli creates a unique, quirky, offbeat story that’s charming and entertaining. Putting together the strangeness and naivety of Benedetta Porcaroli’s Holly with the savviness and remarkable quickness of Lucrezia Guglielmino’s 8-year-old Arabella was absolutely brilliant.
The two play off of each other in such a fun way, they’re much like watching sisters, they push each other’s buttons, cause them grief and chaos, clean up each other’s messes. Cavalli’s writing has an excellent deadpan sense of humour, and a big dose of manipulation, it has tonnes of personality and nicely brings through that mundanity of the everyday to keep the film grounded. The balance which she creates with The Kidnapping of Arabella is terrific and so effortless to watch.
In no small part thanks to the superb performances from Benedetta Porcaroli and Lucrezia Guglielmino. The two of them bring this undeniable, relentless energy, it’s the type of vibe you might find from a coming-of-age flick, which is entirely appropriate as their journey opens up both of their eyes and gives them what they need at this point in their lives. They create a touching, unconventional friendship, akin to one you might find in Hunt for the Wilderpeople or St. Vincent. They add great touches of sarcasm, arrogance and lots of originality.
Cavalli then enhances all of that with her directorial style which adds a fantastic intensity. The kidnapping element brings a really great ticking clock to the table which expands the atmosphere beyond just comedy and drama. It’s very well edited by Babak Jalali to match that feel, and keep things moving at a great pace, while not rushing. The cinematography from Lorenzo Levrini is also high quality, keeping The Kidnapping of Arabella’s feet firmly on the ground but adding more texture and a real warmth to the colouring.
The Kidnapping of Arabella will likely surprise you with how touching it is. It’s funny, charming and unexpected. It’s exactly what you want from a road trip film, they get into trouble, they argue, they create chaos wherever they go, they meet strange people, and they build a lovely friendship along the way. Benedetta Porcaroli and Lucrezia Guglielmino are so entertaining to watch, and having Chris Pine speak Italian is a nice touch too. Carolina Cavalli creates a really strong presence which keeps you glued in, it’s filled with great quirks, the writing is excellent and it all flows really well from start to finish.
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