Venice Film Festival | Little White Lies

Venice Film Festival

Two men in a theatre auditorium, one wearing a leather jacket and the other an older man in the foreground.
Festivals

Ferrari – first-look review

by Hannah Strong

Michael Man­n’s long-await­ed Enzo Fer­rari biopic is a dis­ap­point­ing­ly con­ven­tion­al and sur­pris­ing­ly rough por­trait of an auto­mo­tive icon.
Man in fur-lined coat and naval cap, black and white image.
Festivals

El Conde – first-look review

by Hannah Strong

Pablo Lar­raín imag­ines Augus­to Pinochet as an aged vam­pire crav­ing death in his goth­ic satire, which marks his first for­ay into horror.
Two men visible in rear-view mirror of car interior.
Festivals

No Bears – first-look review

by Rafa Sales Ross

Jafar Panahi plays him­self in this lov­ing­ly-craft­ed aut­ofic­tion that cen­ters on two pairs of lovers.
A person lying on a dark surface, eyes closed, with a blue cloth covering them.
Festivals

The Listener – first-look review

by Hannah Strong

Tes­sa Thomp­son plays a helpline vol­un­teer on her final shift in Steve Buscemi’s sen­si­tive drama.
Woman with curled blonde hair wearing a black top and white trousers, seated on a red sofa with bookshelves in the background.
Festivals

Blonde – first-look review

by Leila Latif

Andrew Dominik’s adap­ta­tion of Joyce Car­ol Oates’ behe­moth Mar­i­lyn Mon­roe nov­el is a sur­re­al, anar­chic take on celebri­ty and womanhood.
A bearded man in a dark t-shirt pointing a handgun in a dimly lit setting.
Festivals

Beyond the Wall – first-look review

by Anahit Behrooz

Vahid Jalil­vand crafts an inti­mate puz­zle box of a film, regard­ing the lives of two strangers that inter­sect in a fas­ci­nat­ing and trag­ic manner.
A woman wearing a white hijab and looking directly at the camera.
Festivals

The Matchmaker – first-look review

by Anahit Behrooz

Benedet­ta Argen­ter­i’s doc­u­men­tary about Too­ba Gondal fails to get to the sys­tem­at­ic caus­es of rad­i­cal­i­sa­tion, instead opt­ing for shod­dy per­son­al blame.
A pensive man with a serious expression, wearing a black jumper, in a dimly lit setting.
Festivals

The Son – first-look review

by Hannah Strong

Despite boast­ing some big names, Flo­ri­an Zeller’s fol­low-up to The Father is a missed oppor­tu­ni­ty to tack­le the weighty sub­ject of teen depression.
Diverse group seated in a church; Black woman in foreground wearing yellow blouse.
Festivals

Saint Omer – first-look review

by Rafa Sales Ross

This deeply nuanced trea­tise on the tragedy of moth­er­hood marks the extra­or­di­nary fea­ture debut of Alice Diop.
Two older men wearing hats, one in a waistcoat, standing in a dimly lit room.
Festivals

Dead for a Dollar – first-look review

by Leila Latif

There should be a war­rant out for some­one’s arrest after this dire west­ern from Wal­ter Hill.