CHIARA
Venezia 79 – Concorso Italy, 2022, Director: Susanna Nicchiarelli With: Margherita Mazzucco, Andrea Carpenzano, Carlotta Natoli, Paola Tiziana Cruciani, Flaminia Mancin, Valentino Campitelli, Paolo Briguglia, Giulia Testi, Luigi Vestuto, Luigi Lo Cascio Running time: 106’
Chiara is the only Italian film in the competition of Venezia 79 directed by a woman, Susanna Nicchiarelli. This is her third film driven by a female character after Nico 1988 (2017) and Miss Marx (2020). Nicchiarelli always looks for sophisticated female characters historically overshadowed by the famous men they dealt with. This is the turn of a spiritual woman, Saint Chiara from Assisi. Nico, a film that won 4 David di Donatello, Golden CIAK for best screenplay and Orizzonti Golden Lion in Venice 2017, was the story of Christa Päffgen, a.k.a. Nico, Warhol’s muse, singer of the Velvet Underground and wonderful woman. Miss Marx tells the story of Eleonor, the younger daughter of Karl Marx. The film ran for Golden Lion in 2020 and was a step forward for the director’s cinematic language, merging creativity and critical thinking with historical correctness using a modern perspective. Chiara starts when the saint (played by Margherita Mazzucco, young Elen in the series My Brilliant Friend) when she was 18. The year is 1211, Chiara left her home to join Francesco (Andrea Carpenzano) and change her life forever. «Chiara’s life – says Nicchiarelli – is very less known than the life of Francesco. Her experience gives us back the energy of innovation, the contagious enthusiasm of youth, and the drama that every revolution worthy of the name brings». Chiara, such as Miss Marx, is based on accurate philologic research on the protagonist made by Susanna during the lockdown. She confirmed Massimo Cantini Parrini, winner of David di Donatello for Miss Marx and Oscar-nominated twice for Pinocchio and Cyrano, as costume designer. The original soundtrack is signed by Anonima Frottolisti, an experimental collective from Assisi dedicated to studying and rediscovering the medieval and Reinassance musical repertory.
