Contributions from Ross McDonnell | Little White Lies

Contributor Ross McDonnell

Close-up of a human face lying on a surface, with eyes closed and mouth slightly open.
Locarno Film Festival

How to capture death on film

by Ross McDonnell

Two prizewin­ning films at the 2017 Locarno Film Fes­ti­val – Mrs Fang and 3⁄4 – attempt to do just that.
Portrait of a person with short dark hair wearing a light blue jacket, looking directly at the camera with a serious expression.
If You Like...

Six of the best films about poets

by Ross McDonnell

From The Colour of Pome­gran­ates to A Qui­et Pas­sion, seek out these fas­ci­nat­ing por­traits of verse-makers.
A person with blue-dyed hair sits in a dimly lit room, eyes closed, face lit from below by warm, orange light.
In Praise Of

How Millennium Mambo set the blueprint for Moonlight

by Ross McDonnell

Bar­ry Jenk­ins’ Mia­mi-set com­ing-of-ager echoes the visu­al lan­guage of Hou Hsiao-hsien’s 2001 film.
Two individuals, a man and a woman, seated in a natural outdoor setting with mountains and foliage in the background. The individuals appear to be in conversation or interaction with one another.
In Praise Of

The emotional, intimate realism of Maren Ade’s Everyone Else

by Ross McDonnell

Before you see Toni Erd­mann, seek out the director’s bril­liant­ly observed sec­ond fea­ture from 2009.
Two people, a man with a beard and a woman with long hair, standing together in a dimly lit setting.
Festivals

Colossal – first look review

by Ross McDonnell

A drunk Anne Hath­away wreaks hav­oc in South Korea in this bril­liant, utter­ly bizarre mon­ster movie.

3
Anticipation
2
Enjoyment
2
In Retrospect
Two young people walking in a corridor, one wearing a backpack.
Festivals

A controversial new film confronts the horrors of child abduction

by Ross McDonnell

Pol­ish direc­tor Bar­tosz M Kowalski’s Play­ground graph­i­cal­ly depicts the mur­der of a toddler.