The Kidnapping of Arabella

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The Kidnapping of Arabella
The Kidnapping of Arabella.jpg
Italian Il rapimento di Arabella
Directed by Carolina Cavalli
Screenplay byCarolina Cavalli
Produced by
  • Antonio Celsi
  • Annamaria Morelli
Starring
CinematographyLorenzo Levrini
Edited byBabak Jalali
Music byThomas Moked Blum
Noaz Deshe
Production
companies
Distributed byPiperFilm
Release date
  • 28 August 2025 (2025-08-28)(Venice)
Running time
107 minutes
CountryItaly
LanguageItalian

The Kidnapping of Arabella (Italian: Il rapimento di Arabella) is a 2025 Italian drama film written and directed by Carolina Cavalli, and starring Benedetta Porcaroli, Lucrezia Guglielmino and Chris Pine.

Contents

The film had its world premiere in the Orizzonti section of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on 28 August 2025, where Porcaroli won the Best Actress prize. [1]

Premise

Following a chance encounter with a child a woman gains an insight into herself. [2]

Cast

Production

The film is written and directed by Italian director Carolina Cavalli, in her second feature film. It is produced by Elsinore Film and The Apartment, a Fremantle company. The producers are Antonio Celsi for Elsinore and Annamaria Morelli for The Apartment. [3]

The cast is led by Benedetta Porcaroli and includes Lucrezia Guglielmino in a titular role, and Chris Pine in an Italian-speaking part, his first non English-language role. [4] [5] [6]

Principal photography took place in August 2024 between Veneto and Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy. [7]

Reception

The film received generally favorable reviews from critics, who praised its direction, screenplay, and the performances of Porcaroli and Guglielmino. [8] [9] [10]

Emanuele Bucci of Ciak drew comparisons to the director's previous work, Amanda (2022), highlighting similar themes such as "critiques of the upper-class microcosm" and the portrayal of "clashing female characters." [11]

Damiano Panattoni of Movieplayer.it described the film as "a dysfunctional coming-of-age story that emphasizes the importance of writing in its visual execution," referring to the director as "a highly interesting filmmaker." [12]

Giorgio Amadori of Sentieri Selvaggi characterized the film as an "absurdist comedy" that distinguishes itself from Italian cinema, drawing parallels to the works of Joel and Ethan Coen and Wim Wenders. While he acknowledged some "heavy-handedness" in the screenplay, he appreciated the film's divisive, imperfect nature, noting that it could even be "off beat" in certain aspects. [13]

In addition, Dazed ranked the film 11th on its list of the best films of 2025. [14]

References

  1. "Biennale Cinema 2025 | Il rapimento di Arabella". La Biennale di Venezia. July 11, 2025. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  2. Roxborough, Scott (August 27, 2024). "Chris Pine Joins Italian Drama 'The Kidnapping of Arabella'". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
  3. Yossman, K.J. (August 27, 2024). "Chris Pine to Star in First Italian-Speaking Role in 'The Kidnapping of Arabella'". Variety. Retrieved August 28, 2024.
  4. Vivarelli, Nick (August 1, 2024). "Fremantle's 'Queer' Producer the Apartment Sets Carolina Cavalli's Next Project Under New CEO Annamaria Morelli (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved August 28, 2024.
  5. London, Rob (August 27, 2024). "Bellissimo! This 'Star Trek' Star Is Headed to Italy for His First Foreign-Language Role". Collider. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
  6. Matteazzi, Giulia (October 11, 2024). "Livio Pacella: a 2024 of important projects between TV and cinema. The actor from Vicenza will star with Chris Pine in the new film by Carolina Cavalli". Vipiu.it. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
  7. Tabbara, Mona (August 27, 2024). "Chris Pine to star in Carolina Cavalli's 'The Kidnapping Of Arabella' now shooting in Italy". Screen Daily. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
  8. Gian Luca Pisacane (August 28, 2025). "Il rapimento di Arabella: Carolina Cavalli gioca con il cinema". Cinematografo . Retrieved September 7, 2025.
  9. Paola Casella (August 29, 2025). "Il rapimento di Arabella, un film che va verso l'indie americano". MYmovies.it . Retrieved September 7, 2025.
  10. Francesca Faccani (September 1, 2025). "Il rapimento di Arabella, recensione del film: nessuno come Carolina Cavalli riesce a capire le ragazze che si sentono incomprese". Vogue Italia .
  11. Emanuele Bucci (August 28, 2025). "Il rapimento di Arabella, la recensione di un coming of age 'malincomico'". Ciak . Retrieved September 7, 2025.
  12. Damiano Panattoni (August 28, 2025). "Il rapimento di Arabella, recensione: tutta la bellezza di essere irrisolti". Movieplayer.it . Retrieved September 7, 2025.
  13. Giorgio Amadori (August 28, 2025). "Il rapimento di Arabella. La recensione del film". Sentieri selvaggi . Retrieved September 7, 2025.
  14. "The 20 best films of 2025". Dazed. December 9, 2025. Retrieved December 27, 2025.