Contributions from Rafa Sales Ross | Little White Lies

Contributor Rafa Sales Ross

Two men visible in rear-view mirror of car interior.
Festivals

No Bears – first-look review

by Rafa Sales Ross

Jafar Panahi plays him­self in this lov­ing­ly-craft­ed aut­ofic­tion that cen­ters on two pairs of lovers.
Diverse group seated in a church; Black woman in foreground wearing yellow blouse.
Festivals

Saint Omer – first-look review

by Rafa Sales Ross

This deeply nuanced trea­tise on the tragedy of moth­er­hood marks the extra­or­di­nary fea­ture debut of Alice Diop.
A person wearing a white shirt and black jacket, with braided brown hair, looking directly at the camera with a serious expression.
Festivals

A Couple – first-look review

by Rafa Sales Ross

Fred­er­ick Wise­man reflects on the rela­tion­ship between Leo Tol­stoy and his wife Sophia Tol­staya in his first for­ay into fic­tion filmmaking.
Doorway leading to snowy outdoor scene, person silhouetted in bright sunlight.
Festivals

Bardo – first-look review

by Rafa Sales Ross

Ale­jan­dro G Iñár­ritu grap­ples with cre­ative ful­fil­ment and the Mex­i­can dias­po­ra in his sprawl­ing, semi-auto­bi­o­graph­i­cal sur­re­al­ist drama.
Two people, a woman and a child, embracing in a grassy field with mountains and trees in the background.
Festivals

The Eight Mountains – first-look review

by Rafa Sales Ross

Felix van Groenin­gen and Char­lotte Van­der­meer­sch’s is a poignant study of the friend­ship between two young men across four decades.
A man standing shirtless in a kitchen, cooking on a stove.
Review

Minyan

by Rafa Sales Ross

Eric Steele ven­tures into nar­ra­tive film­mak­ing with a lack­lus­tre adap­ta­tion of David Bez­mozgis’ queer com­ing-of-age story.

3
Anticipation
2
Enjoyment
2
In Retrospect
A black and white photograph of a woman with long, wavy hair looking to the side with a pensive expression, wearing a collared jacket.
In Praise Of

Why I love Ellen Burstyn’s performance in The Last Picture Show

by Rafa Sales Ross

She inhab­its the role of the frus­trat­ed house­wife in Peter Bogdanovich’s 1971 dra­ma with appar­ent effortlessness.
A knight in chainmail armour, looking stoically off into the distance.
Review

The Last Duel

by Rafa Sales Ross

Matt Damon, Adam Dri­ver and Jodie Com­er star in Rid­ley Scott’s blunt-edged tale of mas­culin­i­ty and betray­al in the 14th century.

4
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
2
In Retrospect
A woman with blonde hair wearing a black outfit and shawl, sitting on a horse in a rural setting.
Festivals

The Last Duel – first-look review

by Rafa Sales Ross

Appeal­ing turns from Ben Affleck and Jodie Com­er can’t save Rid­ley Scott’s bloat­ed his­tor­i­cal epic.
Two people embracing, one person's head rests on the other's shoulder. The image has a warm, comforting tone with a blue background.
Review

Wildland

by Rafa Sales Ross

Sidse Babett Knud­sen excels in this claus­tro­pho­bic crime dra­ma from first-time direc­tor Jeanette Nordahl.

2
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect