The Kidnapping of Arabella

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The Kidnapping of Arabella

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1h 47m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

63%

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19 Reviews

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

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. The two embark on an unconventional road trip between two lost souls who might be exactly what the other needs.

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Tomris Laffly

RogerEbert.com

2d

2.5/4

Also complementing the narrative and sharp production design details is the Veneto region where the film is mostly shot, a locale that accentuates both the gloomy and witty shades of Cavalli’s tale.

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Jeannette Catsoulis

New York Times

4d

In a narrative hinging on dashed dreams and disappointment, Pine (speaking credible Italian) is fine, if something of a curiosity.

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Andy Crump

AV Club

5d

B

... a pretty good film.

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Mark Dujsik

Mark Reviews Movies

3d

1.5/4

It's a movie that values eccentricity over authenticity...

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Cate Marquis

AWFJ.org

3d

The wild, inventive story draws us in and keeps us hooked with its mysterious characters, while keeping us unsure what happens next, as it goes from absurdly comic to warmly touching, until its various threads come together in its satisfying ending

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Jennifer Merin

AWFJ.org

3d

MOVIE OF THE WEEK! an unusual splice of genres: coming of age, buddy buddy road trip, new age scifi, psychological thriller, magical unrealism. Thoroughly engaging. Must see!

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Sarina M

@Charmant 1d

Main character is lost emotionally after a disjointed childhood and meets a young girl reminding her of her childhood. The child is also very unhappy and wants to escape her own horrible childhood. They bond in an effort to escape reality and redo their childhood together, except the adult is less in reality than the child, with all her tempers and frustrations. An interesting adventure with lots of loose ends especially for an adult with some serious emotional deficits. They do provide some healing and escape for each other but it is hard to say who is the adult and who os the child.

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Stephen C

@bob25009 3d

Successfully full of drama in 1 hour and 47 minutes.

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Carolina Cavalli

Director

Benedetta Porcaroli

Holly

Lucrezia Guglielmino

Arabella

Chris Pine

Orest D.

Roberto Zibetti

Agente di Polizia

Roberta Da Soller

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Synopsis

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. The two embark on an unconventional road trip between two lost souls who might be exactly what the other needs.

Director: Carolina Cavalli
Producer: Antonio Celsi, Annamaria Morelli
Screenwriter: Carolina Cavalli
Distributor: Oscilloscope Laboratories
Production Co: The Apartment Pictures, Piper Film, Elsinore Film
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Italian
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 15, 2026, Limited
Runtime: 1h 47m