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Javier Beltrán, Robert Pattinson, Matthew McNulty, Marina Gatell, Esther Nubiola ... see more see more... , Bruno Oro , Simón Andreu , Vicky Pena , Arly Jover , Marc Pujol , Ruben Arroyo , Diana Gomez , Pep Sais , Joan Picó , Ferran Audi , Adria Allue , Ferran Lahoz

For years, scholars have debated the nature of the relationship between surrealist painter Salvador Dali and poet Federico Garcia Lorca; director Paul Morrison's Little Ashes delves into their persona... read more read more...l interaction and their acquaintanceship with Spanish surrealist filmmaker Luis Buñuel, with whom Dali made L'Age d'Or and Un Chien Andalou. In 1922 Madrid, bohemian lifestyles are flourishing -- from the arrival of jazz music to the en vogue teachings of Sigmund Freud. As the tale opens, Salvador Dali (Robert Pattinson) is only 18, but his dreams of artistic glory lie poised in front of him; his outré personality and social attitudes soon draw the full-fledged attention of two from the in-crowd -- Lorca (Javier Beltrán) and Buñuel (Matthew McNulty). For a temporary period, the three become the most "in" clique in all of Spain and find themselves virtually defining the currents of modernism; however, Buñuel then leaves for Paris, and Salvador and Federico are thrust together even closer than before -- so close that one night, their relations suddenly cross the line from platonic friendship to something far more intimate. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Flixster Users

48% liked it

78,540 ratings

Critics

24% liked it

68 critics

R, 1 hr. 52 min.

Directed by: Paul Morrison

Release Date: May 8, 2009

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DVD Release Date: January 26, 2010

Stats: 2,053 reviews

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spotlight Javier Beltran as Federico García Lorca in Little Ashes Robert Pattinson blah... Little Ashes Robert Little Ashes hes so cute .. silly face.. go rob Little Ashes Little Ashes Little Ashes Little Ashes
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Flixster Reviews (2,053)

  • blacksheepboy
    March 24, 2012
    blacksheepboy
    A disappointing effort that doesn't develop well the personalities of its three main characters - and it feels hard to see what Lorca finds so attractive in Pattinson's Dalí. Also, the story is mined by irregular performances and some cheesy, embarrassing moments.
  • hunterjt13
    November 20, 2010
    hunterjt13
    Since I began writing reviews regularly, I've found myself becoming aware while I'm watching a film that I will have to have something intelligent to say about it. If I am not enjoying a film, I feel that I have to come up with a viable reason why. This was difficult for Lit... read moretle Ashes. I found myself complete unengaged with the film, and it was difficult to pinpoint why or what the filmmakers could have done to fix the problem. The best that I can determine is that the film frequently wanders. Is this a film about boys becoming men at school? Sorta. Is it about homosexuality? KInda. Is it a political drama? I guess. Even sprawling biopics generally have a central theme or character that pushes them forward, and we see no such thing in the story of Garcia Lorca and Dali.
    And Robert Pattinson. Clearly, I find Edward Cullen insufferable and the Twilight movies banal. But I had no great hatred for the actor until now. He is truly, truly awful in this film. I can't remember a single action that seemed motivated, and there is little reason to believe that Garcia Lorca would love/obsess over Pattinson's Dali. It is true that Salvador Dali often turned his life and his behavior into a twentieth century Diogenes, but we don't see satire in Pattinson's Dali; we see dumb schtick.
    Overall, this film is chore.
  • Tomassgringo
    November 6, 2010
    Tomassgringo
    I was not expecting much and was pleasantly surprised. There is a real love story there, but because of the times and reservations is where the conflict comes in. All acting was pretty good but the stand out performance was Javier Beltan. I do not know how historically correct... read more it is, but I enjoyed seeing the conflict and struggle for gays in this time period in Spain.
  • itsjustme2004
    October 14, 2010
    itsjustme2004
    Even though this movie was rather strange at times, I couldnt help but like it. Robert Pattinson did a really great job portraying a very offbeat and eccentricly weird artist. I only wish that they didnt revolve so much around his supposedly gay relationship with Lorca, but it se... read moreems that this was the main purpose of this film, I guess. Overall I really enjoyed it.
  • neverteaseaweasel
    July 3, 2010
    neverteaseaweasel
    My expectations for this movie went of a rollarcoaster from 'oh it's going to be amazing' to 'oh, that is going to suck' and back again. Regardless, by the time I actually had opportunity to watch Little Ashes, I really did not care if I saw it or not. Overall, I was really impre... read moressed with it. There is not all that much that is noteworthy about the film, but it is incredibly intoxicating to watch. It's a slow, simple film, which is something I enjoy, but it does not leave much room for ideas or anything else. The characters are interesting and convincing, but a bit flat. You never really understand them, get into their skin. On a positive note, Robert Pattinson, really is not great, but he DOES appear to have the potential to be more convincing and intersting that poor Edward Cullen. There really is not any consistent look to the film. The first of all browny-brown, then it moves into more blacks and white, then tans, and so on. Maybe this was intentional or symbolic, idk. It's just sort of distracting, and I really cannot decide if it was intentional or not. I love Salvador Dali's art and I guess I would have expected a film about his life to be a bit more intersting, a bit more, well surreal. Enough whining, though, I really, really enjoyed the movie, It's just that the only things that really stand out enough to merit mention are the flaws.
  • YLOWBSTARDreturns
    January 26, 2010
    YLOWBSTARDreturns
    Oh man, this film fails on almost every level! When I first heard about LITTLE ASHES and it's premise, I thought it could end up being Oscar material... instead, it turned into one of the more cringe- inducing wrecks I've seen in a long while. AVOID. Life's too short to be wastin... read moreg it on junk like this!
  • 366weirdmovies
    August 5, 2009
    366weirdmovies
    Set in Madrid and Paris at the height of the Dadaist and Surrealist movements, this movie describes a (likely fictional) student love affair between poet Federico Garcia Lorca and painter Salvador Dali. Surprisingly tame given the subject of forbidden love, and surprisingly conv... read moreentional given the subject of revolutionary artists who advise us to eradicate all limits in art.
  • vierasesine
    July 14, 2009
    vierasesine
    ****-

    An interesting look at the intricate...well...relationships between Salvador Dalí, Federico García Lorca, Luis Buñuel and Magdalena. I was going to say love triangle, but it can't really be called that when four people are involved, can it? Of course, officially Buñuel was... read more not at all interested in Garcí­a Lorca because he was really quite homophobic, but his jealousy of Federico and Dalí­'s relationship is so obvious. Why else would he throw such fits? You can really feel the pain of Magdalena's unrequited love for Federico just as you can feel the pain Federico feels because of Dalí­'s mixed signals and general dysfunctionality. Dalí­ could really be a dislikeable person, it is true, but was Garcí­a Lorca really that sympathetic all the time? All in all this film is much more about him than Salvador. But the film isn't all pain and pining. It has its sweet, romantic moments as well as its funny moments.

    RPattz wasn't quite able to capture the essence of Dalí­, but at least he tried.
  • gator681
    January 19, 2011
    gator681
    Madrid in 1922 is no different than anyplace else when it comes to university students complaining about the repressive state of affairs. At least, Federico Garcia Lorca(Javier Beltran) has been published as a poet while Luis Bunuel(Matthew McNulty) is thinking about making a fi... read morelm. Salvador Dali(Robert Pattinson) puts them all to shame with his entrance in his fancy dress. The only thing Magdalena(Marina Gatell) can bring to the party is a short haircut but that will do for now. She also does have an invitation to a fashionable dinner party to which she brings along Federico and Salvador.

    Considering the time, place and people involved, "Little Ashes" is a potentially fascinating, yet fatally flawed and uninspiring, movie that even without Robert Pattinson's horrendous performance, still might not have been much good. Another problem arises from treating the characters as merely historical figures in a wax museum, rather than flesh and blood people. Despite their possible dreams, none had any idea what history would have in store for them.(I remember reading in a biography of Luis Bunuel where he wondered how he would have been remembered if he had died in the Spanish Civil War.) And the movie simply goes on too long when a tighter focus on a single time and place would have been the way to go. In its defense, I should point out the movie does the right thing by not shying away from any homoeroticism. Along these same lines there are some good thoughts on the importance of sticking to one's beliefs.
  • burgerstar
    January 27, 2012
    burgerstar
    A lot of guy on guy make out sessions, if that's your thing.

View All Little Ashes Reviews

Critic Reviews

Steven Rea
June 26, 2009
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

A bravely earnest and gauzy bit of biography. Full Review

Michael O'Sullivan
May 29, 2009
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post

Beltran, for his part, makes a solidly believable Garcia Lorca. The problem is with the man with whom he's obsessed. In Pattinson's performance, we never see what Garcia Lorca sees in Dali. Full Review

Greg Quill
May 22, 2009
Greg Quill, Toronto Star

Even cinematographer Adam Suschitzky's richly textured and resonantly toned cityscapes and rural scenes can't make up for a flawed script and weak performances in what might have been a powerful histo... Full Review

Ty Burr
May 21, 2009
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

What's intended to be a daring look at repressed sexuality, three-ways and all, has the dramatic heft of a true-love comic book. Full Review

Ben Mankiewicz
May 11, 2009
Ben Mankiewicz, At the Movies

I think you should go ahead and rent the movie. Full Review

Ben Lyons
May 11, 2009
Ben Lyons, At the Movies

A noble effort, that ultimately left me disappointed and unfulfilled. Full Review

Lou Lumenick
May 8, 2009
Lou Lumenick, New York Post

An exceedingly silly historical fantasy. Full Review

Betsy Sharkey
May 8, 2009
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times

Little Ashes is a case of too little of this and too much of that, and like the rumored affair, nothing of substance to hold on to. Full Review

Peter Debruge
May 8, 2009
Peter Debruge, Variety

For much of its running time, Little Ashes wavers between the polite, stuffy style of a Masterpiece Theater production and the more pointed agenda of gay indie cinema. Full Review

Walter V. Addiego
May 8, 2009
Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle

Director Paul Morrison nicely re-creates the period, but puts too much weight on the sexual relationship as determining the men's artistic courses. Full Review

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Facts

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    • Salvador Dali: From this point on, my real life begins.
    • Federico Garcia Lorca: Your real life? And what about this life? You can't just abandon everything!
    • Salvador Dali: Abandon what? Sitting in an art room all day, going out of my mind with boredom? Drinking myself into a stupor every night? I'm so sick of it!
    • Federico Garcia Lorca: How can you say that? Your painting's never been better. This isn't you, Salvador. What's happened to you?
    • Salvador Dali: Federico, why can't you just be happy for me?
    • Salvador Dali: If I'm going to be anything more than average, if anyone's going to remember me, then I need to go further in everything: in art, in life, in everything they think is real: morality, immorality, good, bad, I, we, have to smash that to pieces, we have to go beyond that, we have to be brave. no limit.
  • Love. Art. Betrayal.
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Little Ashes Trivia

  • Which weird american actress said this: "If I die before my cat, I want a little of my ashes put in his food so I can live inside him"  Answer »
  • In the movie "Around the Bend" where must they drop a little bit of ashes out their father's urn at?  Answer »
  • He stars in: -Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire -Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix -How to Be -Little Ashes -Twilight  Answer »
  • Who plays Salvadore Dali in the movie "Little Ashes"?  Answer »
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