As the countdown nears to the May 8th premiere of Little Ashes, the amount of press reviews are slowly starting to accumulate. We will soon have a Quick Link up, allowing you to read over them and perhaps compare your expectations and later your own response to the film we adore so much. To begin, here are some snippets of interesting reviews we have discovered. Courtesy of our partners at Spunk Ransom and Little Ashes Movie Blog, there have been magazine scans from The Guardian and also Sight and Sound Magazine with some interesting commentary on Little Ashes.

[ Pictured to the left: An illustration from The New Yorker. ]

- - -

This first review comes from Blade, the Orange County and Long Beach's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transexual Newsmagazine. To read the remainder of their critique on the cast's performances, visit their site.

Little Ashes is educational and sensual. Impressively directed by Paul Morrison (Solomon & Gaenor), it evokes the upper-class and sexually repressive atmosphere of E. M. Forster's novel Maurice, as well as the poetry and passion of the film Like Water for Chocolate. The film's intelligent, well-researched script is by first-time screenwriter Philippa Goslett.

Visually, the film is gorgeous. Between the Spanish locations, Pere Francesch's sets and Antonio Belart's costumes, the film perfectly captures the setting and period.

Adam Suschitzky's photography draws from the artists' own styles and imagery, and his use of light is breathtaking during a nighttime sequence as Garcia Lorca and Dalí frolic in the sea.

Also of note is the original music score by Miguel Mera, as well as the film's use of period songs and music. The Latin-flavored sounds accentuate the visuals and Mera's carnival-esque theme underscores Dalí's personality and conflicted desires.

- - -

This next review comes from Backstage, who speaks bout the cast performances. Read the rest of the review by visiting the Bacstage site.

Pattinson is a standout as the sexually ambiguous and wildly quirky Dalí, given to flamboyant costumes, displays of self-importance, and rehearsed affectations. He is a study in narcissism who becomes his persona. Making his feature film debut, Beltrán does a nice job portraying a sensitive man deeply in love with the wrong person. He is wounded and vulnerable, yet not beyond acts of profound cruelty. McNulty has a smaller role but manages to convey in a few brief appearances Buñuel's repulsion at Dalí and García Lorca's homoerotic bond, while hinting at his own unacknowledged attraction for Dalí. Marina Gatell is also touching as a woman hopelessly in love with García Lorca.

In one of the more disturbing scenes, García Lorca is having sexual relations with Magdalena (Gatell) while Dalí watches. The range of emotions on all their faces-from anguish to humiliation to pleasure to a sense of conspiracy-is memorable. So is an erotic kiss between Dalí and García Lorca during a nighttime swim. Dalí's horror and García Lorca's yearning-tinged with Dalí's yearning and García Lorca's horror-make for layered drama.

- - -

The Hollywood Reporter has also commentated on their opinions of the film. In their review, they weigh in on the premise, in addition to Little Ashes cinematography.

Once it gets past a tedious introductory section in which new student Dalí arrives at university, the film zeroes in on the intense homoerotic flirtation between Dalí and Lorca. Since there isn't a lot of documentation about this affair, the script by Philippa Goslett is maddeningly murky, though Pattinson and Beltrán strike some sensual sparks. Although Lorca is known to have been gay, Dalí 's sexuality is more ambiguous (he was married for decades), and the film implies that he essentially was asexual, thus able to serve as a magnet for men and women. The film also hints that Buñuel, who is jealous of the friendship between Dalí and Lorca, might have been something of a closet case himself. As he hurls homophobic slurs at his classmates, he seems to be wrestling with demons of his own, which never are made entirely clear.

Anyone who looks to the film for a lucid analysis of these three seminal artists will be disappointed. Yet the film is often enjoyable to watch, partly because it is so beautifully shot by cinematographer Adam Suschitzky, who takes advantage of the rich settings, including Dalí 's home in the seaside town of Cadaqués and Lorca's in the pastoral environs of Andalusia.

Pattinson captures the initial shyness and growing flamboyance of Dalí, and Beltrán makes a handsome foil. Although the female characters aren't as well drawn, Marina Gatell as a writer in love with Lorca and Arly Jover as Dalí ‘s brazen wife, Gala, bring the right sassiness to their roles. All of the technical credits are outstanding; it's the diffuse script that disappoints.

- - -

There's no doubt that more reviews will soon be publicized. As they do, we will add them here.

Comments

B

i

u

Quote

Code

List

List item

URL

Name *
Email (For verification & Replies)
URL
Code   
ChronoComments by Joomla Professional Solutions

Submit Comment