LWLies Recommends | Little White Lies

LWLies Recommends

Two people, a woman and a man, stand in a dim, warm-toned room with books on shelves behind them.
Review

Crimes of the Future

by Sarah Cleary

Extreme surgery replaces sex in body hor­ror mae­stro David Cronenberg’s ambi­tious blends of sci­ence fic­tion and film noir.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
5
In Retrospect
Two people, a man and a woman, standing in front of a concrete wall. The man wears a patterned blue shirt, and the woman wears a black top and metallic gold trousers.
Review

Official Competition

by David Jenkins

Pené­lope Cruz excels as a preen­ing art­house film­mak­er in this deli­cious satire of mak­ing art with­out compromise.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Two women facing each other, against a backdrop of the ocean and rocky coastline.
Review

Anaïs in Love

by Jasmine Valentine

A flighty young woman sets out to seduce a lover’s girl­friend in Char­line Bourgeois-Tacquet’s charm­ing queer romance.

3
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Elderly man with a beard gazing fondly at a young child.
Review

Hit the Road

by Marina Ashioti

A fam­i­ly embarks on a per­ilous road trip in Iran­ian direc­tor Panah Pahani’s assured, dark­ly com­ic debut.

3
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Three young people standing in a desert landscape, one wearing a baseball shirt and the others in casual attire.
Review

Nope

by Rógan Graham

A broth­er and sis­ter attempt to record proof of extra-ter­res­tri­al life in Jor­dan Peele’s ambi­tious, expert­ly-craft­ed blockbuster.

5
Anticipation
5
Enjoyment
5
In Retrospect
A person floating in water, with only their face visible above the surface.
Review

Faya Dayi

by Cheyenne Bart-Stewart

Jes­si­ca Beshir’s strik­ing debut fea­ture offers an immer­sive look into the rit­u­al prac­tices and com­mod­i­fi­ca­tion of Khat in Ethiopia.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
A woman in a floral dress speaking to a man in a white shirt, seated on a couch.
Review

Good Luck to You, Leo Grande

by Leila Latif

A retired wid­ow sets out on a jour­ney of sex­u­al dis­cov­ery in Sophie Hyde’s sen­su­al, sex-pos­i­tive dramedy.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
A blonde woman with tattoos on her arm sitting on a sofa, wearing a lilac crop top.
Review

Pleasure

by Savina Petkova

A young woman sets out to become the next adult film super­star in Nin­ja Thyberg’s auda­cious fea­ture debut.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Elderly person wearing elaborate headdress and costume with large decorative chandelier behind them.
Review

Swan Song

by Emily Maskell

Udo Kier plays a world-weary styl­ist who returns to his home­town for a lucra­tive job in Todd Stephens’ touch­ing comedy-drama.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Cave entrance framing herd of mountain goats on rocky cliff
Review

Il Buco

by David Jenkins

This sin­gu­lar, awe-strik­ing reen­act­ment of an Ital­ian cave explo­ration from the 1960s is one of the year’s major achievements.

4
Anticipation
5
Enjoyment
5
In Retrospect