The Kidnapping of Arabella


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

Premise

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

Cast

  • Benedetta Porcaroli as Holly
  • Lucrezia Guglielmino as Arabella
  • Chris Pine as Orest D.
  • Roberto Zibetti as Poliziotto
  • Roberta Da Soller
  • Marco Bonadei as Maccarino
  • Eva Robin's as Granatina
  • Livio Pacella as L'autista
  • Milutin Dapcevic as Robin

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

Reception

The film received generally favorable reviews from critics, who praised its direction, screenplay, and the performances of Porcaroli and Guglielmino.
Emanuele Bucci of Ciak drew comparisons to the director's previous work, Amanda, highlighting similar themes such as "critiques of the upper-class microcosm" and the portrayal of "clashing female characters."
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."
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.
In addition, Dazed ranked the film 11th on its list of the best films of 2025.