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So-so
Avg. Critic Score: 41 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
16 Iffy for 16+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 75
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    Little Ashes is absorbing but not compelling. Most of its action is inward. Read full review

  • 70
    The Hollywood Reporter |

    Ashes makes no claims to be an entirely accurate biopic; it's a speculative, impressionistic portrait without a lot of dramatic force or psychological depth. But it's an elegantly designed film that fascinates as often as it frustrates. Read full review

  • 50
    San Francisco Chronicle | Walter Addiego

    Director Paul Morrison ("Wondrous Oblivion") nicely re-creates the period, but puts too much weight on the sexual relationship as determining the men's artistic courses. Read full review

  • 50
    Los Angeles Times |

    A trifling historical fantasy, gossip wrapped in gossamer, beautiful to watch but it takes only a light wind to leave the story in tatters. Read full review

  • 50
    Washington Post | Michael O'Sullivan

    Beltrn, for his part, makes a solidly believable Garca Lorca. The problem is with the man with whom he's obsessed. In Pattinson's performance, we never see what Garca Lorca sees in Dal. Read full review

  • 50
    The New York Times | A.O. Scott

    A painfully sincere study in creative passion, sexual ardor and political zeal that embalms a mad and exuberant historical moment within the talky, balky conventions of period-costumed highbrow soap opera. Read full review

  • 50
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    If you'd like to know about the famously eccentric psyche of surrealist artist Salvador Dali, whom Pattinson plays, you're better off consulting written biographies. Little Ashes does nothing to illuminate the iconic Spanish artist. Read full review

  • 42
    Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

    I can't imagine what Dali or Buuel would have made of such bourgeois sentimentality. Read full review

  • 40
    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, with real Spanish locations classing up the otherwise low-budget affair. Acting is stagy and hindered by thick Spanish accents. Read full review

  • 38
    Boston Globe | Ty Burr

    The problem is that both Philippa Goslett's script and Paul Morrison's direction lack the stylistic craziness - the sense of real, lunatic danger - a project like this desperately needs. Read full review

View more reviews for Little Ashes on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 16+ Sensual, mature tale of young artists in 1920s Spain.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that even though this drama stars Twilight heartthrob Robert Pattinson, it's a mature film for mature audiences. It deals with sexual exploration and suppressed homosexual behavior in a restrictive society, and scenes depict intercourse, homosexual awakening, full nudity, bare breasts, and masturbation. There's also strong language (including "f--k" and "s--t"), references to bodily functions, and sexual slurs directed at homosexuals. Several violent scenes show death by firing squad, the beating of a gay man, authentic wartime footage with dead bodies, and a graphic, close-up shot of an eye being sliced.
  • Families can talk about the movie's messages. Is it making specific statements about art and sexuality? What techniques do the filmmakers use to emphasize the sensuality of the story? How does Robert Pattinson's role in this movie compare to his better-known role in Twilight? Families can also discuss how the politics of 1920s Spain affected Dali and Lorca's lives. Why was the government so afraid of Lorca? What factors made Dali reject him? Can you think of incidents in today's world in which artists are willing to speak out?
The good stuff
  • message true2 Positive messages: Central characters struggle for artistic, social, and sexual freedom in a rigid society. In the case of Federico Garcia Lorca, ideals and human values are sacred, and for this he pays the ultimate price. Homosexuals are treated with disgust and violence in some instances; with compassion and understanding in others. Friendship and loyalty are recognized as qualities to be treasured.
What to watch for
  • violence false3 Violence: During a tense sequence, a firing squad shoots three men. One scene shows a young homosexual man being severely beaten. Newsreel war footage includes images of dead bodies on the ground. The most disturbing image is a close-up depicting the slicing of a human eye. There's a bare knuckle fight with no serious injuries.
  • sex false5 Sex: Scenes include male frontal nudity, many images of bare breasts and buttocks, passionate heterosexual and homosexual lovemaking, intercourse, masturbation, and a short simulated sex scene between puppets.
  • language false3 Language: Includes several forms of "f--k," as well as "piss," "s--t," "bastard," and "faggot."
  • consumerism false0 Consumerism: Not an issue
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Cigarette smoking is seen continuously, which is accurate for the 1920s setting. Many scenes with young people drinking alcohol, including some excessive drinking and drunkenness.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

Little Ashes Movie Ratings + Reviews

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