San Sebastian Film Festival | Little White Lies

San Sebastian Film Festival

Young person standing in a cluttered bookshop, looking pensive.
Festivals

On Falling – first-look review

by David Jenkins

The dire lot of a low paid fac­to­ry work­er is the sub­ject of this rig­or­ous if hard­ly rev­e­la­to­ry char­ac­ter study from debut direc­tor Lau­ra Carreira.
Man in suit applying makeup to white garment with red floral pattern.
Festivals

Afternoons of Solitude – first-look review

by David Jenkins

Albert Serra’s extra­or­di­nary, intense por­trait of tore­ador Andrés Roca Rey is one of the Span­ish director’s finest works to date.
Two elderly women walking along a gravel path through an autumnal woodland, carrying baskets.
Festivals

When Fall Is Coming – first-look review

by David Jenkins

This light­weight Chabro­lian coun­try dra­ma from François Ozon sees an elder­ly retiree with a com­plex past try­ing to do right by her family.
A person sleeping peacefully in a dimly lit bedroom, surrounded by a wooden headboard and delicate floral branches.
Festivals

Emmanuelle – first-look review

by Rafa Sales Ross

Audrey Diwan’s take on the infa­mous erot­ic French nov­el is a chilly, bemus­ing affair that lacks for a sense of real purpose.
Two people, a man and a woman, together in a lush, green forest.
Festivals

The Serpent’s Path – first-look review

by David Jenkins

Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s third film of 2024 is a French-lan­guage remake of his own 1998 fea­ture about a grim, cycli­cal revenge mission.
Two adults, a man and a woman, sitting closely at a table in a dimly lit restaurant.
Festivals

I Am Nevenka – first-look review

by David Jenkins

Icíar Bollaín’s tabloidy but worth­while #MeToo dra­ma tells of a vic­tim of sex­u­al abuse with­in Spain’s local polit­i­cal scene.
Couple embracing on hillside overlooking rural landscape.
Festivals

Un Amor – first-look review

by David Jenkins

This steamy and gid­di­ly uneven rur­al romance from Span­ish film­mak­er Isabel Coix­et is almost saved by Laia Costa’s com­mit­ted cen­tral performance.
A man applying face paint, looking intently in a mirror. His face is partially covered in bright red paint.
Festivals

Kalak – first-look review

by David Jenkins

This Green­land-set dra­ma from Dan­ish direc­tor Isabel­la Eklöf, about a hus­band and father deal­ing with the trau­ma of abuse, makes for oppres­sive­ly grim and only occa­sion­al­ly rev­e­la­to­ry viewing.
Three people, two men and one woman, walking together on a path in a green, wooded area.
Festivals

A Silence – first-look review

by David Jenkins

Reli­able Bel­gian direc­tor Joachim Lafos­se serves up more lurid scan­dal sheet fod­der in this dis­mal tale of a wife and moth­er try­ing to sweep her husband’s vile trans­gres­sions under the rug.
Three suited men, one older with glasses, sitting in the back of a car.
Festivals

Ex-Husbands – first-look review

by David Jenkins

Ami­able Amer­i­can com­e­dy of dent­ed male egos in which Grif­fin Dunne’s recent divorcee acci­den­tal­ly crash­es his son’s bach­e­lor party.
Cosy domestic scene with a person lying on a sofa in a living room with bookshelves and potted plants.
Festivals

MMXX – first-look review

by David Jenkins

The lat­est from Roman­ian film­mak­er Cristi Puiu com­pris­es four salty slices of pan­dem­ic-era life which range from the out­ward­ly com­ic to the overt­ly grizzly.
A smiling person in a car, their eyes closed and head tilted back.
Festivals

Something You Said Last Night – first-look review

by Marina Ashioti

Luis De Fil­ip­pis’ film is a great addi­tion to a trans­gen­der cin­e­mat­ic canon in that it refus­es to rely on overt explo­rations of trauma.