The “Nameless Religion” in Alice Rohrwacher’s films

This article examines how traditional religious structures are dismantled in the films of Italian director Alice Rohrwacher, and how a new sense of religiosity emerges through this process. While previous studies have primarily discussed Rohrwacher’s works through the lenses of film aesthetics, visual composition, magical realism, and Italian neorealism, religious elements have often been treated as peripheral. In contrast, this study places religion at the center of analysis, exploring how religious meanings are deconstructed and reconfigured within her films. Drawing on Wendy Doniger’s concept of “transparency,” this article examines the interplay between mythological elements and cinematic imagery. It also engages with Giorgio Agamben’s notion of “profanation” to analyze how the sacred is dismantled in Rohrwacher’s films. Additionally, it incorporates the notions of “wonder” and “enchantment” to explore an emergent religiosity beyond traditional religious frameworks. By introducing the concept of the “nameless religion,” this study interrogates the conventional binaries between the sacred and the profane, the everyday and the extraordinary. Rather than accepting these categories as given, it questions their analytical utility and highlights how Rohrwacher’s films open new possibilities for conceptualizing and narrating religious experience. Through this interdisciplinary approach, the article offers a distinct contribution to the field of religion and film, providing new insights into how religious meaning and experience are reimagined in contemporary cinema.