Little White Lies

Gently resting his acoustic guitar atop a bench, Elio (Timothée Chalamet) gives Oliver (Armie Hammer) a direction: “Follow me.” And so, Oliver does, leaving the sun-soaked garden and crossing the back door of the Italian manor where he is spending su

It’s 6.59am Pacific Standard Time, and Luca Guadagnino is sat in the passenger seat of a packed car, shades balanced on dome, and looking down into his smartphone to begin our chat. The last time I spoke to the director was on the occasion of Call Me

We hooked up with the hottest cast of the year to get their post-match analysis and insight on Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers. In the film, Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist play tennis buddies-turned-arch rivals, Patrick and Art, while Zendaya, who also p

"The glib, over-articulate and amoral creatures force their lives into fantastic shapes and problems because they cannot help themselves.” Not exactly the most flattering portrait of bisexuals, but one which pervades their presence in cinema – so gre

Nestled next door to The Ritz hotel in London is The Wolseley – a British dining institution that opened its doors in 2003. Although it’s hardly the oldest restaurant in the capital, it’s certainly one that attracts a mighty share of celebrity client

The idea for Drive-Away Dolls was born in a bar – it’s been a long time coming since. Husband-and-wife duo Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke realised their script together, about two lesbian best friends who embark on a road trip from Tallahassee to Florid

In celebration of Challengers (a particular moment – you’ll know when you see it!) and our perpetual adoration for great illustration, we present to you five pieces reframing some of our favourite films by the maestro himself, Luca Guadagnino. For yo

Directed by ETHAN COEN Starring MARGARET QUALLEY, GERALDINE VISWANATHAN, BEANIE FELDSTEIN Released 15 MARCH There’s a classic episode of Star Trek where a transporter malfunction causes Captain Kirk to be split into two copies of himself, each reflec

Directed by BEN MULLINKOSSON  Released 15 MARCH ANTICIPATION. An outsider perspective on Chinese alternative youth culture. ENJOYMENT. A wild and unpredictable ride with insane amounts of vomit. IN RETROSPECT.  A gorgeous and bittersweet time capsule

Directed by ROSE GLASS Starring KRISTEN STEWART, KATY M O'BRIAN, DAVE FRANCO Released 3 MAY At the climax of David Fincher’s Gone Girl, in a confrontation with her husband after her carefully constructed mask has peeled off, Amy Dunne utters the immo

After achieving critical acclaim for her breakout debut Saint Maud, Rose Glass teamed up with Kristen Stewart for a rough-n-ready romp in the New Mexico desert. The result is Love Lies Bleeding – a thriller about girls and guns, both the literal and

Directed by HIROKAZU KORE-EDA Starring SOYA KUROKAWA, SAKURA ANDO, EITA NAGAYAMA Released 15 MARCH ANTICIPATION. One of Japan’s greatest living filmmakers with his annual delivery. ENJOYMENT. Some wonderful stuff here, but too many contrived writerly

Directed by AXEL DANIELSON, MAXIMILIEN VAN AERTRYCK Release 19 APRIL In 1902, England’s King Edward VII was crowned. Two months earlier, Georges Méliès made a film about it in his French studio to be released at the coronation date. Reportedly, the k

Directed by NEO SORA Starring RYUICHI SAKAMOTO Released 29 MARCH ANTICIPATION. This profile of the great, multi-discipline Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto is a must see. ENJOYMENT.  Neo Sora’s footage is movingly, respectfully captured as Sakamoto

Directed by PABLO BERGER Released 22 MARCH ANTICIPATION.  Oscar-nommed in a crowded year for top-tier animation. ENJOYMENT.  Rich in detail, with an unassuming emotional power. IN RETROSPECT. A wordless wonder that will live long in the memory. If an

Directed by KEVIN MACDONALD Starring JOHN GALLIANO, KATE MOSS, NAOMI CAMPBELL Released 8 MARCH For those celebrities that may have accidentally besmirched their image in the public eye, a juicy profile documentary seems like the perfect vehicle for r

Directed by MARCO BELLOCCHIO Starring LEONARDO MALTESE, PAOLO PIEROBON, FAUSTO RUSSO ALESI Released 26 APRIL Marco Bellocchio’s drama on the Mortara Affair – the Papal States’ seizure of six-year-old Edgardo Mortara from his Jewish family in Bologna

Directed by SACHA POLAK Starring VICKY KNIGHT, ESME CREED-MILES, CHARLOTTE KNIGHT Released 29 MARCH Two minutes into Dutch filmmaker Sacha Polak’s fourth feature, Silver Haze, and the film that instantly springs to mind is Gary Oldman’s Nil By Mouth:

Directed by ANTHONY CHEN Starring CYNTHIA ERIVO, ALIA SHAWKAT, IBRAHIMA BA Released 29 MARCH This new film by Singaporean filmmaker Anthony Chen is his first in the English language and it probes the question of the unseen and, often, unimaginable tr

Sean Price Williams’ eye has defined American independent filmmaking of the 2010s. After making his bones operating for the legendary Maysles brothers, Williams has forged long-standing collaborations with Alex Ross Perry and the Safdie brothers, amo

Directed by RAMATA TOULAYE-SY Starring KHADY MANE, MAMADOU DIALLO, BINTA RACINE SY Released 15 MARCH ANTICIPATION. Senegalese cinema is Mati Diop and Ousmane Sembène, not a bad impression to start with. ENJOYMENT.  A gorgeous experience that would ge

Directed by VICTOR ERICE Starring MANOLO SOLO, JOSÉ CORONADO, ANA TORRENT Released 12 APRIL ANTICIPATION. The long, long, long, long, long-awaited fourth feature from filmmaker Victor Erice. ENJOYMENT. Though his oeuvre is small. Erice only deals in

It has been 31 years since we last saw a feature film by the Spanish maestro Victor Erice, and that film was the transcendent documentary the ephemeral nature of art, The Quince Tree Sun. He remains most well know for his 1973 debut, The Spirit of th

Directed by MATTEO GARRONE Starring SEYDOU SARR, MOUSTAPHA FALL, ISSAKA SAWADOGO Released 5 APRIL The case of Senegalese migrant Ibrahima Bah, who has been found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter after seeking asylum in the UK, has recently mad

Directed by ALICE ROHRWACHER Starring JOSH O’CONNOR, ISABELLA ROSSELLINI CAROL DUARTE Released 10 MAY A woman is missing. Arthur (Josh O’Connor) imagines her, he sees her in his dreams, but deep down he knows that Beniamina (Yile Vianello) is gone, e

A filmmaker fascinated by the intersection between natural words and human civilisation, Alice Rohrwacher concludes her decade-long inquiry into the question of “What to do with the past?” with La Chimera, a striking fairy tale about a young archaeol

Directed by ANGELA SCHANELEC Starring ALIOCHA SCHNEIDER, AGATHE BONITZER, MARISHA TRIANTAFYLLIDOU Released 22 MARCH ANTICIPATION. Stratospheric: Schanelec is a giant of European art cinema. ENJOYMENT. Hair-shirt cinema: enjoyment barely an option. IN

Directed by ILKER ÇATAK Starring LEONIE BENESCH, LEONARD STETTNISCH, EVA LÖBAU Released 12 APRIL ANTICIPATION. Çatak’s thriller-drama drew comparisons to Uncut Gems and was nominated for an Oscar. ENJOYMENT. Strains credulity through relentless escal

Directed by ELENE NAVERIANI Starring EKA CHAVLEISHVILI, LIA ABULADZE, TEMIKO CHICHINADZE Released 3 MAY Elene Naveriani’s delightful, eccentrically-titled Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry offers a celebration of the fact that we are all masters of our

Directed by GIACOMO ABBRUZZESE Starring FRANZ ROGOWSKI, MORR NDIAYE, LAETITIA KY Released 29 MARCH In Giacomo Abbruzzese’s feature debut, Franz Rogowski plays Aleksei, a strong-willed, tormented Belarusian trapped in a Faustian bargain. Clinging to t

Directed by WARWICK THORNTON Starring ASWAN REID, CATE BLANCHETT, DEBORAH MAILMAN Released 15 MARCH Curiously muscular for a four-foot-something nine-year-old, his steely eyes poking out from under sun-bleached sandy tresses, newcomer Aswan Reid cuts

Directed by PAUL DUANE Starring SIMONE COLLINS, CHARLIE MAHER, OLWEN FOUÉRÉ Released 19 APRIL The exploitation and commercialisation of ancient artefacts is punishable by a fate that may be worse than death in Paul Duane’s nightmarish read on Irish f

Directed by RODRIGO MORENO Starring DANIEL ELÍAS, ESTEBAN BIGLIARDI, MARGARITA MOLFINO Released 22 MARCH Newsflash: it turns out that the absolute worst bank in the world is situated in Buenos Aires. Security is so lax and the manager so chill that i

One of the sleeper hits of the 2023 Cannes Film Festival was The Delinquents, the new film from Argentine director Rodrigo Moreno. This deadpan odyssey follows a man named Moran as he casually embezzles a hold-all of money from the bank in which he w

Directed by CLAIRE DENIS Starring ISAACH DE BANKOLÉ, FRANÇOIS CLUZET, GIULIA BOSCHI Blu-ray/DVD Released 29 APRIL As far as debut features go, Claire Denis’ Chocolat is about as auspicious as they come. Packing in a number of themes and preoccupation

Directed by RENÉ CARDONA Starring MAURA MONTI, ROBERTO CAÑEDO, HÉCTOR GODOY Blu-ray/DVD Released 25 MARCH Of all the figures coming out of Mexican cinema’s 1930s to 1950s “Golden Age”, René Cardona was the most prolific. Directing more than 100 films

Directed by ROBERT ALTMAN Starring SANDY DENNIS, MICHAEL BURNS, SUSANNE BENTON Blu-ray/DVD Released 8 APRIL Within Robert Altman’s varied filmography is a strand of works in which women in interior spaces navigate their slow descent into states of ps

Directed by LOU YE Starring ZHOU XUN, JIA HONGSHENG, HUA ZHONGKAI Blu-ray/DVD Released 29 APRIL Of all of the “Sixth Generation” directors of Chinese cinema, Lou Ye remains one of the least known. This is not a question of quality, but instead of vis

Directed by FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA Starring FREDERIC FORREST, TERI GARR, RAUL JULIA Blu-ray/DVD Released 4 MARCH Made after a run of successes for the director, One From the Heart (1982) was ruinous for Francis Ford Coppola. Difficult to finance and co

Directed by JACQUES RIVETTE Starring BULLE OGIER, JEAN-PIERRE KALFON, ANDRÉ S LABARTHE For many a hardened cinephile this will be a major bucket list release, as Jacques Rivette’s now legendarily hard-to-see 1969 opus has been plushly restored and di

The Berlin Film Festival has always encouraged a more liberal outlook than some of its European counterparts, being the first major festival to introduce a dedicated queer sidebar back in 1978, and frequently favouring outspoken filmmakers in its sel

Subscribe to Little White Lies 5 issues of the best film mag anywhere for just £28 Delivered right to your door. Order Now at LWLies.com ■