The Kidnapping of Arabella

The film opens with dual prologues establishing each main character's circumstances. Arabella (Lucrezia Guglielmino), a brash and rebellious eight-year-old, accompanies her self-absorbed celebrity author father (Chris Pine) to a banquet, where she heckles him mercilessly until he arranges for a driver to take her elsewhere. Holly (Benedetta Porcaroli), a directionless 28-year-old, has just lost her dead-end job at an ice rink and drifts through life fantasizing about holes in the space-time continuum and wondering where everything went wrong. The two meet by chance in a Taco King parking lot, where Arabella — eager to escape her father — begs Holly to take her away. Holly notices that Arabella fakes a limp to avoid situations she doesn't want to be in, the exact same tactic Holly used at that age. Interpreting this shared quirk as undeniable cosmic proof, Holly becomes convinced that Arabella is literally her past self sent back through a fold in time and space for a second chance. Despite the film's title, there is no coercive abduction: Arabella goes willingly, playing along with Holly's time-travel delusion. The two embark on a Paper Moon-style road trip across Italy, funding themselves through small scams — most notably charging starry-eyed couples at a local chapel for Arabella to serve as their flower girl. Their dynamic is one of bickering, mutual manipulation, and grudging affection, with both characters using subtle psychological leverage to get what they need from the other. Meanwhile, Arabella's father undergoes his own low-key existential crisis as he searches for his missing daughter. The journey ultimately centres on Holly's arc: caring for Arabella becomes her way of reconnecting with her past self and finding a tentative sense of purpose — carving out a spot she can be content with in a world where she always feels like she's fighting against the current. The film ends on a reflective note about loneliness, inadequacy, and the complexity of simply existing across different life stages.

Sources: Web search synthesis (official synopsis), katieatthemovies.com Venice 2025 review, theimmersivereviewer.com review