Venice Film Festival | Little White Lies

Venice Film Festival

Elderly woman's face, eyes closed, serene expression.
Festivals

Familiar Touch – first-look review

by Hannah Strong

Sarah Fried­land’s fea­ture debut is a stun­ning, sen­so­ry-for­ward por­trait of a woman with demen­tia adapt­ing to life in an assist­ed liv­ing facility.
Woman in teal dress standing in dark, cluttered room with wooden furniture and fittings.
Festivals

April – first-look review

by Rafa Sales Ross

Dea Kulum­be­gashvil­i’s stark Geor­gian dra­ma fol­lows an obste­tri­cian who moon­lights as an abor­tion­ist, as she is accused of inter­fer­ing with her patients.
A man on horseback, wearing a hat and coat, leading a group of horses in a mountainous landscape with a body of water in the background.
Festivals

Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 – first-look review

by Luke Hicks

Kevin Cost­ner deft­ly keeps the wheels turn­ing on his hyper ambi­tious four-part west­ern saga, despite a luke­warm recep­tion and scrapped release.
A couple relaxing on a sofa, covered with a blanket, against a window showing a scenic view.
Festivals

Love – first-look review

by Rafa Sales Ross

Dag Johan Haugerud’s explo­ration of human desire is a sad­ly all too ster­ile affair.
Two young people smiling and using a mobile phone together in a workshop setting.
Festivals

Youth (Homecoming) – first-look review

by Anna McKibbin

The final chap­ter in Wang Bing’s epic tril­o­gy exam­ines love old and new in Chi­na’s Zhili province.
Group portrait of a band, with 10 individuals shown in black and white. The group is arranged in two rows, with members making various facial expressions.
Festivals

Pavements – first-look review

by Luke Hicks

Alex Ross Per­ry cre­ates a unique docu-fic­tion about cult indie band Pave­ment, blur­ring the lines between real and fake to excel­lent comedic effect.
Two people conversing on a dimly lit stage, illuminated by red lighting and a spotlight.
Festivals

Joker: Folie à Deux – first-look review

by Hannah Strong

Todd Phillips recruits Lady Gaga to his cir­cus act as Joaquin Phoenix repris­es his role as the crime-com­mit­ting clown about town in this shock­ing­ly ama­teur musi­cal effort.
Two shirtless men in a dimly lit room, one looking directly at the camera with a pensive expression.
Festivals

The Quiet Son – first-look review

by Rafa Sales Ross

Vin­cent Lin­don stars as a wid­ow­er try­ing to steer his young song away from the far right in the Coulin Sis­ters’ frus­trat­ing drama.
Man sitting at a table using a laptop in a café with colourful wall art.
Festivals

Queer – first-look review

by Hannah Strong

Luca Guadagni­no heads on down to Mex­i­co with Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey in his free­wheel­ing take on William S. Bur­roughs’ epony­mous novel.
Ornate interior with grand architecture, dim lighting, and a person silhouetted in the foreground.
Festivals

2073 – first-look review

by Anahit Behrooz

Bend­ing the bound­aries of doc­u­men­tary and sci-fi, Asif Kapa­dia presents an urgent mes­sage about the cur­rent state of the world, and where we might be head­ed, with help from Saman­tha Morton.
A large, wooden waterwheel in a nighttime scene, surrounded by figures engaged in various rural activities. Bright lights and billowing smoke create a sense of energy and industry.
Festivals

Harvest – first-look review

by Hannah Strong

Athi­na Rachel Tsan­gar­i’s solemn adap­ta­tion of Jim Crace’s his­tor­i­cal nov­el con­cen­trates on the chang­ing face of a Scot­tish farm­ing vil­lage as the agri­cul­tur­al rev­o­lu­tion begins.
A woman with dark hair sitting against a dark wall, looking pensive.
Festivals

I’m Still Here – first-look review

by Rafa Sales Ross

Wal­ter Salles returns to nar­ra­tive film­mak­ing with a sen­si­tive depic­tion of the forced dis­ap­pear­ance of for­mer con­gress­man Rubens Pai­va, and the dev­as­ta­tion his fam­i­ly faced.