Venice Film Festival | Little White Lies

Venice Film Festival

A woman with blonde hair wearing a black outfit and shawl, sitting on a horse in a rural setting.
Festivals

The Last Duel – first-look review

by Rafa Sales Ross

Appealing turns from Ben Affleck and Jodie Comer can’t save Ridley Scott’s bloated historical epic.
Man in a cream-coloured shirt stands in a forested area, holding a firearm.
Festivals

Old Henry – first-look review

by Steph Green

Potsy Ponciroli’s defiantly old school oater is a modest treat with a barnstorming turn from Tim Blake Nelson.
A young woman with long hair sitting at a desk, her hands raised in the air, gesturing expressively. The image is set in a restaurant or cafe setting, with a sign visible in the background.
Festivals

Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon – first-look review

by Sophie Monks Kaufman

Ana Lily Amirpour returns with a blissed-out, techno-powered riff on the time-honoured superhero movie.
A young woman wearing a grey tank top and sunglasses standing in a crowded room, surrounded by other people.
Festivals

L’Événement – first-look review

by David Jenkins

Audrey Divan’s lacerating and necessary drama follows a young student seeking a clandestine abortion in 1960s France.
Hands holding a woman's head in a theatrical pose, wearing an orange robe against a dark background.
Festivals

Lost Illusions – first-look review

by Adam Solomons

Xavier Giannoli’s pristine adaptation of Balzac’s ​‘Illusions Perdues’ is a raunchy romp through post-Revolution France.
A man with a beard and closed eyes, wearing a white shirt.
Festivals

Sundown – first-look review

by Sophie Monks Kaufman

Mexican cine-sadist Michel Franco returns with another cravenly bleak drama about life as a pageant of eternal suffering.
A woman with red hair performing on stage under bright red lighting.
Festivals

Last Night in Soho – first-look review

by David Jenkins

Edgar Wright’s lively London-set giallo, starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Thomasin McKenzie, fails to deliver on its fascinating premise.
Four people posing on a red carpet, two women and two men. The women are wearing bold, patterned dresses, and the men are in formal suits.
Festivals

Official Competition – first-look review

by David Jenkins

Big laughs and searing insights into the artistic process power this highly enjoyable film world satire.
Cave entrance framing herd of mountain goats on rocky cliff
Festivals

Il Buco – first-look review

by David Jenkins

This unique journey to the centre of the earth is a stunning highlight of the 2021 Venice Film Festival.
Two people, a man and a woman, embracing closely against a wall.
Festivals

True Things – first-look review

by Steph Green

Harry Wootliff’s follow up to 2018’s Only You focuses on a relationship so toxic it’s almost radioactive.