Bringing the best of Italian cinema to US theaters.
Carolina Cavalli on What Becomes a Runaway Success in “The Kidnapping of Arabella”
The director discusses hitting the road with “Amanda” star Benedetta Porcoroli as a woman who believes she’s literally reconnected with her inner child.
Roger Erbert: The Kidnapping of Arabella Review
The liveliest gag of Carolina Cavalli’s sweet-natured yet increasingly serious “The Kidnapping of Arabella” arrives at its beginning. Unhappy that she has to endure a dull night amongst adults, the young, precocious Arabella (a wonderful Lucrezia Guglielmino) throws a mighty tantrum in order to not attend the celebration thrown in honor of her famous author dad, Orest D. After all, what kid wants to sit nicely at a table for several hours and get served boring food when they can go to Taco King, Arabella’s favorite restaurant? Defeated when her cries go nowhere, young Arabella joins her father begrudgingly. But that doesn’t stop her from hackling the event with frequent outbursts, hilariously yelling things like “Jonathan Franzen” and “Taco King” at random. The former is the author the cheeky kid knows her dad is most jealous of, a running joke that’s successful enough throughout the film to give us a few decent chuckles. The latter, well, where Arabella would rather be.
‘The Kidnapping of Arabella’ Review: Chris Pine Speaks Fluent Italian in a Quirky Road Movie That Offers Equally Unexpected Surprises at Every Turn
Carolina Cavalli’s “The Kidnapping of Arabella” opens with one of the single most surprising things I’ve seen and/or heard in a movie this year: Chris Pine, swagged out in a skin-tight suit that makes him look like a yassified Nick Cave, seething with jealousy over Jonathan Franzen in seemingly perfect Italian.
LETTERBOXD Watchlist This!: Our July 2026 picks of the best new bubbling-under films
Our picks of under-the-radar gems from this month’s new releases. This edition includes uproarious summer comedies, achingly personal documentaries and coming-of-age stories by visionary female filmmakers.
‘The Kidnapping of Arabella’ Review: A Zany Road Trip
Chris Pine shows off his surprising fluency in Italian in this film about a pesky tween who convinces an aimless young woman to abduct her.
‘The Kidnapping of Arabella’ Review: Stolen Childhoods
“The Kidnapping of Arabella” plays like a comedy, though comedies about mental illness are, understandably, few and far between. It helps, though, that this sophomore feature by Carolina Cavalli is Italian: The long tail of Fellini can be sensed wagging through every quirky character and unwaveringly deadpan exchange.
The Kidnapping Of Arabella leads to a wry, Coens-style caper
Chris Pine and a slew of Italians riff on a universal parental nightmare.
Valérie Donzelli, Carolina Cavalli to Chair Venice’s Horizons, Luigi De Laurentiis Juries
La Biennale di Venezia has named the international juries for the Horizons section and the Luigi De Laurentiis Venice award for a debut film at the 83rd Venice Film Festival.
‘The Queen of Hearts’ director Donzelli will head up the Horizons jury, while ‘Amanda’ filmmaker Cavalli will chair the jury for best first feature.
Marco Bellocchio, Sally Wainwright Win Big at Italian Global Series Festival Which Celebrated ‘Star Trek’ and ‘Lost’ and Lamented Industry Crisis
