Weekend films

'Rebuilding', trying to start over in contemporary America

The film starring Josh O'Connor, screened at the Sundance Film Festival and several other international festivals, arrives in cinemas

by Andrea Chimento

5 June 2026

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

A neo-western to understand today's America: this is how one can sum up 'Rebuilding', an ambitious US film by Max Walker-Silverman, who returned behind the camera three years after his interesting debut 'Love Song'.

Presented at the Sundance Film Festival in 2025 and then at numerous international events, 'Rebuilding' stars Josh O'Connor, one of the world's best-known actors, who in the past year alone has also starred in three other feature films: Kelly Reichardt's 'The Mastermind', Oliver Hermanus' 'The History of Sound' and Rian Johnson's 'Wake Up Dead Man'.

The British actor, born in 1990, plays in 'Rebuilding' a modern-day cowboy who sees his ranch devastated by a fire.

The man, a reserved divorced farmer, is thus transferred to a temporary caravan camp together with other displaced locals. Thanks to his daughter's determined optimism and a renewed sense of community, he learns to accept help and open up to the possibility of a new start.

A portrait of a certain contemporary America, 'Rebuilding' tries to tell the story of how hope can come more from encounters than from government choices, more from solidarity than from economic policy.

What Maw Walker-Silverman is thus primarily interested in describing is a risky but challenging journey of how to regain a sense of home, re-establish human connections and embrace the generosity that can emerge from loss.

“Rebuilding” e gli altri film della settimana
Photogallery4 foto

The Recovery of Simplicity

In addition to touching on burning issues such as fires and global warming, the film focuses on the importance of reclaiming the simple things, succeeding in engaging the audience and offering several highly empathetic sequences in which one can get emotional.

Not everything works perfectly, however, due to some overly stereotypical characters and some narrative passages that are entirely predictable and somewhat scholastic.

Fortunately, however, the overall design holds up at a distance, both in terms of pace and elegant staging that shows the good talent of an independent director who could grow further with his next feature films.

Remarkable performance by Josh O'Connor, but also impressive is the young Australian actress Lily LaTorre.

Smart Working

New releases include 'Smart Working', an Italian comedy starring Maccio Capatonda.

The comedian plays Giuliano, a man who, since the company he works for has adopted smart working, is as if he has discovered paradise: less work but more profitability, more family and time for his passions. His wife, an aspiring writer, is pregnant with their second child and the two are looking for a bigger house.

Starting from an interesting subject, this product relies on some effective and decidedly topical narrative joints. For this reason, too, it is a pity that the film becomes too watered down as the minutes go by, being too didactic and less courageous than it could have been.

The cast includes the presence of Maurizio Nichetti, who gives a very entertaining and effective performance.