Review of Little Ashes (2008) by Schivon S — 06 Feb 2010
Despite the ridiculousness of Robert Pattinson playing Spanish artista DalÃ, this was an interesting dissection of how Lorca's sexuality shaped his writing and informed the politicization of his character (so much so that he was murdered for it).
(To be fair to Pattinson, the role as written represents the damaged cipher of DalÃ, and helps the sensitive Lorca's attraction make some kind of complementary artistic sense, like awkwardly linked puzzle pieces).
It's always nice when movies approach stories with gay characters and embrace, (instead of heterosexualize), their lives. The film is also not afraid to show us the less admirable side of director Luis Buñuel, (who as the film correctly suggests played a prevalent role in the lives and art of the main characters of the movie), and therefore offering a more multifaceted portrayal of this god amongst cineasts than expected.
Such a move risked (in many cases successfully) alienating the film buffs who were the target audience of this picture. I firmly believe that most critics simply did not like what the story had to say, (specifically altering the context of 3 famous artists' work by introducing unwelcome information to a largely heteronormative worship) as opposed to not liking how the filmmakers said it.
There is plenty of evidence to support the larger assertions of the Lorca/Dalà relationship as shown in the film. But the lisp-laden Catalan accents inspired more words from these critics than how the attachment between them changed their lives; not on the grounds that they weren't appropriate, but that its execution was a lazy cliché, which very few of them are actually apt to judge.
(It would have been a greater insult had the filmmakers attempted to edit out that detail when regional specificity is central to the story, just because the actors couldn't master a precise linguistic lilt).
Overall the movie exceeded my (admittedly low) expectations. And Javier Beltran makes a deliriously lovely camera subject and a very fine Lorca.
This review of Little Ashes (2008) was written by Schivon S on 06 Feb 2010.
Little Ashes has generally received mixed reviews.
Was this review helpful?
