The Kidnapping of Arabella

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The Kidnapping of Arabella

Jul 2026

1h 47m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

63%

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27 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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David Ehrlich

IndieWire

Jul 21, 2026

B-

The Kidnapping of Arabella arrives at a satisfying destination because it finds a certain peace in the knotted fabric of space and time.

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Kyle Smith

Wall Street Journal

Jul 20, 2026

For the most part, the storytelling is daft fun; Holly and Arabella may not really get anywhere, but Ms. Cavalli should certainly keep going.

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Tomris Laffly

RogerEbert.com

Jul 17, 2026

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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Carla Hay

Culture Mix

Oct 18, 2026

A kidnapping movie doesn't need a lot of action scenes, but the characters should at least be interesting. All the characters are boring or vague in this overrated dark comedy, which thinks being weird and irritating automatically means being adorable.

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Monique Jones

AWFJ.org

Aug 11, 2026

If you are a fan of international film and want to be challenged, The Kidnapping of Arabella might be the film for you.

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Dhruv Goyal

In Review Online

Aug 2, 2026

Does ill-discipline equal rebelliousness? If so, then Carolina Cavalli’s The Kidnapping of Arabella is already one of the best films of the year.

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Toni B

@77bells Sep 5, 2026

Strange, unusual and funny. Sadly perhaps not for an ordinary viewer who expects the two hour, concrete, action-packed experience. I found it refreshingly clever weaving together a creative story with smart dialogue and hilarious cinematography. Bravo!

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Sarina M

@Charmant Jul 19, 2026

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 Jul 16, 2026

The worldwide gross is $80,963.00.

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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

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