Contributions from Sophie Monks Kaufman | Little White Lies

Contributor Sophie Monks Kaufman

Turquoise and white vintage convertible car at night, with two people sitting inside.
Review

Along Came Love review – an intimately epic love story

by Sophie Monks Kaufman

Katell Quillévéré’s poet­ic French peri­od dra­ma is pow­ered by an under­stat­ed chem­istry between Anaïs Demousti­er and Vin­cent Lacoste.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Woman in brown coat stands in front of wall of wooden drawers.
Festivals

Vie Priveé – first-look review

by Sophie Monks Kaufman

Jodie Fos­ter stars as a psy­chi­a­trist try­ing to solve a poten­tial mur­der in Rebec­ca Zlo­towski’s under­whelm­ing drama.
Exterior of a cafe, two men sitting at a table in the foreground, one wearing a suit and the other a checkered shirt, text 'A bout de Souffle' on the storefront awning.
Festivals

New Wave – first-look review

by Sophie Monks Kaufman

Richard Lin­klater’s homage to the film­ing of Jean-Luc Godard­’s Breath­less brings pre­cious lit­tle new to the sto­ry of the New Wave.
Smiling young women in casual clothing, embracing each other affectionately.
Festivals

La Petite Dernière – first-look review

by Sophie Monks Kaufman

A young Mus­lim woman strug­gles to rec­on­cile her blos­som­ing sex­u­al­i­ty with her iden­ti­ty and fam­i­ly expec­ta­tions in Haf­sia Herz­i’s adap­ta­tion of Fati­ma Daas’ novel.
Illustration depicting two male faces, one in cool blue tones and the other in warm red tones, with expressive features and dramatic shading.
In Heaven Everything Is Fine

Dreaming of Lost Highway

by Sophie Monks Kaufman

Sophie Monks Kauf­man recalls a strange vision in the night­time and the haunt­ing nature of David Lynch’s 1997 neo-noir.
Starry night sky with a lone figure silhouetted against a dark landscape of bare trees
Not Movies

Deciphering Don Hertzfeldt’s ME

by Sophie Monks Kaufman

The lat­est short film from the inde­pen­dent ani­ma­tion leg­end is an elu­sive odd­i­ty even by Don Hertzfeldt’s standards.
A group of people wearing orange and green uniforms walking on a road with hills in the background.
Review

Kneecap review – energised Irish pride

by Sophie Monks Kaufman

A cou­ple of Belfast like­ly lads set out on a jour­ney of rap-based resis­tance in Rich Pep­pi­at­t’s cheeky pseu­do-bio of the band Kneecap.

4
Anticipation
5
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
A woman with dark hair dancing enthusiastically in a nightclub, bathed in vibrant purple and pink lighting.
Festivals

Anora – first-look review

by Sophie Monks Kaufman

A young exot­ic dancer shacks up with the son of a Russ­ian bil­lion­aire, much to the despair of his par­ents, in Sean Bak­er’s lat­est down-and-dirty dramedy.
Person floating face up in water, eyes closed, arms spread out.
Festivals

Bird – first-look review

by Sophie Monks Kaufman

Andrea Arnold returns with a flighty kitchen sink rever­ie that sad­ly falls from grace in a mud­dled sec­ond half.
Cluttered suburban garden with children's toys, old car, and small wooden shed.
Review

Occupied City review – a staggeringly ambitious feat of emotional stamina

by Sophie Monks Kaufman

Steven McQueen pro­vides a haunt­ing exam­i­na­tion of Ams­ter­dam under Nazi occu­pa­tion in con­trast to its present in his doc­u­men­tary adapt­ed from Bian­ca Stigter’s book of the same name.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Illustration of four pink camping tents by a campfire under a starry night sky, with a large plume of smoke rising from the fire.
Long Read

The Safe Emotional Spaces of Wes Anderson’s Cinema – Part Two

by Sophie Monks Kaufman

Sophie Monks Kauf­man con­tin­ues her deep dive into the neu­ro­di­ver­gent cod­ing of Wes Ander­son­’s cin­e­ma in this far-reach­ing long read.
Colourful tents and camping equipment on a sandy beach, with sailboats in the distance.
Long Read

The Safe Emotional Spaces of Wes Anderson’s Cinema – Part One

by Sophie Monks Kaufman

Through con­ver­sa­tions with psy­chol­o­gists, neu­ro­di­ver­gent friends, Jason Schwartz­man and the man him­self, Sophie Monks Kauf­man inves­ti­gates the metic­u­lous worlds of Wes Ander­son and their potent emo­tion­al frequencies.