Review of Little Ashes (2008) by Sarah B — 27 Jul 2009

This is a beautiful, if flawed, drama about the rumored relationship between poet Federico Garcia Lorca and painter Salvador Dali. The film moves at a slow pace that works in drawing out the sexual tension to its very believable and satisfying breaking point, all in the midst of mesmerizing imagery and cinematography.

Without giving away too much, the sex scene was one of the most tragic and disturbing I've seen in recent years, and I think I held my breath the whole time. It isn't until closer to the end that the pacing becomes shaky, due to some sudden and lengthy jumps forward in time.

Because of this, I had a harder time feeling immersed in the story, but I did still get teary eyed during the powerful final scenes. There's strong chemistry between Javier Beltran and Robert Pattinson as well, which is worth noting since so many people doubted Pattinson's abilities, including me.