San Sebastian Film Festival | Little White Lies

San Sebastian Film Festival

Two figures in a dark, moody scene; one person gently supporting the other's head.
Festivals

1976 – first-look review

by Marina Ashioti

This sear­ing­ly intense char­ac­ter study sees a woman ques­tion­ing her cosy bour­geois lifestyle in Pinochet’s Chile.
A man in military uniform, wearing a peaked cap, coat, and belt, standing in a dimly lit setting.
Festivals

Benediction – first-look review

by Adam Woodward

Ter­ence Davies’ hand­some biopic of the poet Siegfried Sas­soon is a lament for lost youth and stolen love.
A couple in a wooden room, the woman holds a mobile phone and the man stands close to her.
Festivals

Is de-ageing technology the way forward for the time-spanning epic?

by Lillian Crawford

Two films at the San Sebas­t­ian Film Fes­ti­val show­case a more old school way of depict­ing the bit­ter­sweet pas­sage of time.
Close-up of a man with a serious expression on his face, speaking on a telephone.
Festivals

Zeroville – first look review

by Lillian Crawford

An intend­ed orgy of cinephile plea­sure trans­lates as a mis­guid­ed and mis­be­got­ten dud in James Franco’s long-delayed Hol­ly­wood satire.
A muscular man in a red shirt and black trousers standing in heavy rain, with a neon sign in the background.
Festivals

Bad Times at the El Royale – first look review

by Sophie Monks Kaufman

An A‑list ensem­ble head­lines writer/​director Drew Goddard’s sen­sa­tion­al fol­low-up to The Cab­in in the Woods.
A person lying on a couch, facing the camera, with a serious expression.
Festivals

Look out for this masterclass in naturalistic screen acting

by Sophie Monks Kaufman

Zama star Lola Dueñas gives an aston­ish­ing cen­tral per­for­mance in Jour­ney to a Mother’s Room.
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.