Little White Lies was established in 2005 as a bi-monthly print magazine committed to championing great movies and the talented people who make them. Combining cutting-edge design, illustration and journalism, we’ve been described as being “at the vanguard of the independent publishing movement.” Our reviews feature a unique tripartite ranking system that captures the different aspects of the movie-going experience. We believe in Truth & Movies.
Rebecca Lenkiewicz, the director of Hot Milk, is a British playwright. She wrote Her Naked Skin in 2008, the first original play by a female writer to be produced at the Olivier Theatre at London’s Royal National Theatre. Later, she co-wrote the script for the Oscar-winning film Ida. The original script was written in English and subsequently translated by the director, Pawel Pawlikowski, into Polish. The Berlinale competition became the arena for her first feature as a director. Hot Milk is adapted from Deborah Levy’s acclaimed 2016 eponymous novel. Set against the sun-scorched backdrop of Almería, Spain, the story follows Rose (Fiona Shaw) and her daughter Sofia (Emma Mackey), who has spent her life tethered to her mother.
The reason is that Rose is confined to a wheelchair due to a mysterious illness. The pair travel to the seaside town to consult Dr. Gomez (Vincent Perez), a shamanic physician who may hold the key to Rose’s recovery. Sofia meets the enigmatic, free-spirited traveller Ingrid (Vicky Krieps) and finds herself drawn to her. a spark that promises more than it delivers. Meanwhile, there is an apparent tension between mother and daughter that will escalate during the film, though it’s more exhausting than compelling.
The description might sound inept or even as an attempt to take the film down, but this is basically what goes on here. Anyone sensitive to hackneyed clichés should be wary of this work since it might provoke a severe allergic reaction. This is especially true regarding the characters, who stumble through predictable arcs with little depth.
Hot Milk was my first competition film, which was not a good start. The runtime is a mere 92 minutes, but the film feels way longer. The bickering between the mother and daughter quickly becomes tedious and never goes anywhere. Even though the story is set in Spain, it was actually shot in Greece. Not that it matters with the lacklustre cinematography with hardly a memorable image. The landscapes, which could have elevated the mood, are reduced to bland backdrops.
When you start to wonder where things are going, Vicky Krieps literally rides into the film, bringing hope to Sofia and naive spectators that things will change for the better. The character’s name, Ingrid, reminded me of the other shipwreck she was in recently, Bergman Island. This is not more successful.
Apparently, Hot Milk has been floating around for years before it found an unexpected home at this year’s Berlinale. I kept thinking about Maggie Gyllenhaal’s debut, The Lost Daughter. There are thematic similarities—mother-daughter strain, identity crises—and both films were shot in Greece. The latter was set there as well, and its setting was used with purpose. Whatever scepticism I have towards that overpraised film, it is superior in every respect to this muddled work.
Fiona Shaw attempts to breathe some life into her poorly written character, gamely wrestling with dialogue that clunks rather than sings, but the less said about the rest of the cast, the better. For instance, Vincent Perez’s Dr. Gomez feels like a caricature of mysticism. The film derails almost instantly, and a final shot that attempts to put the film back on track fails miserably. It doesn’t help that it emerges from nowhere.
It is not easy to comprehend what flavours Mathilde Henrot and the other selection committee members detected in Hot Milk. There were some reviews that tried to be understanding, but the overwhelming majority of the audience saw this film for the hot mess that it is.
Director:
Rebecca Lenkiewicz
Date Created:
2025-04-12 22:40
Alex Garland, Director
“Warfare is a true story that Ray Mendoza, my co-writer and co-director, had been carrying with him for a long time from the Iraq War. Everything in this film is according to first-person accounts from the people involved. I didn’t add or subtract anything in the story, nor did the studio or the cast; and honestly, that was such a liberating experience when making this movie. Warfare is about being honest about war, which I think is never a bad thing, especially right now with everything going on. I think this film is impactful, and I hope it will be a conversation starter—especially for anyone with veterans in their lives.”
Written and directed by Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza, Warfare is a raw and intimate look at the realities of the Iraq War, built entirely from the firsthand recollections of those who lived it. The film refuses to dramatize or sensationalize, opting instead for emotional truth and brutal honesty in its portrayal of modern warfare. It’s a timely and deeply human story that resonates in today’s global climate.
Alex Garland is one of the most acclaimed creative voices in modern cinema. He began his career as a novelist with The Beach (1996) before pivoting to screenwriting with iconic films like 28 Days Later and Sunshine. Garland made his directorial debut with the Oscar-nominated Ex Machina, and went on to direct Annihilation, Men, Civil War (2024), and now Warfare (2025). Known for blending cerebral storytelling with visual intensity, Garland continues to challenge and captivate audiences.
JustWatch is the world’s largest streaming guide, serving over 60 million monthly users across 140 countries. It aggregates movies, TV series, and sports from hundreds of platforms—including Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV+, and Hulu—helping users easily find where to stream them legally.
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Living Stones (Elö kövek) is the latest short by Jakob Ladányi Jancsó. It had its world premiere during the 2025 Berlinale Shorts. Béla Tarr was the executive producer, and the director has participated in several of his workshops. The storyline concerns a troubled young woman, Natasa (Lilla Kizlinger), who undergoes therapy at an unorthodox rehabilitation centre in the countryside. She has extended sessions with therapist Georg (Árpád Schilling). One of the methods employed by the institution is horse therapy. Initially, she is reluctant to give away more than bits and pieces of her past and dreams to him, but the introduction to equine treatment seems to be a breakthrough that could make her trust Georg.
Even though the film is set in a community with several cases, we are basically given a two-hander. We spend virtually the whole duration of the film with Georg and Natasa. Gradually, there are signs that the relationship between therapist and patient becomes fuzzy. Living Stones is the director’s graduation film from Free SZFE, which is a breakout from the state-run SFZE. For formal reasons, he graduated from the Vienna Film Academy. The details are discussed in my interview with Jakov Ladányi. Initially, he was a psychology student. A fact that is not surprising when watching the film. The brief runtime notwithstanding, the director manages to dig deep into the characters, especially Natasa.
The profound portrait of the character is due to the precise writing by the director, together with Anna Emília Szűcs. Zsófia Ruttkay, known from György Palfi’s films, was the dramaturg of the piece. However, the cinematic depiction is, at least, equally important. The cinematography by Ádám Fillenz primarily consists of long shots, which give the actors ample space but also create a tense and claustrophobic atmosphere. Something that is also aided by the use of colour and the score by Petra Szászi. Treading further into the film would risk getting into spoiler territory. Suffice it to say that Living Stones is a supreme achievement, which hopefully will be screened in festivals all over the world.
Director:
Jakob Ladányi Jancsó
Date Created:
2025-04-12 04:01
Little White Lies was established in 2005 as a bi-monthly print magazine committed to championing great movies and the talented people who make them. Combining cutting-edge design, illustration and journalism, we’ve been described as being “at the vanguard of the independent publishing movement.” Our reviews feature a unique tripartite ranking system that captures the different aspects of the movie-going experience. We believe in Truth & Movies.
Today, the president, Iris Knobloch, and the general delegate, Thierry Frémaux, held a press conference to announce the 2025 Cannes Film Festival selections. The early announcements have been fewer than usual. Still, it has already been announced that the final part of the Mission Impossible franchise, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, will be screened at the festival, to nobody’s surprise. The opening film will be Partir un jour, directed by debutant Amelie Bonnin.
The main competition is littered with the tired usual suspects: Wes Anderson, the Dardenne Brothers, Kleber Mendoca Filho and others. Other returning directors include Jafar Panahi, Kelly Reichart, Joachim Trier, Richard Linklater, Julia Ducournau, and Tarik Saleh. The latter bafflingly won the award for Best Script for Boy From Heaven in 2022. The new film is, once again, co-produced by Film i Väst. It is downright startling to see Dominik Moll’s name in an A-list festival competition in 2025. The most interesting selections seem to be Sirat by Oliver Laxe, who made the beautiful Fire Will Come, and A Simple Accident by Jafar Panahi.
The fact that Kirill Serebrennikov was relegated to a minor section with The Disappearance Of Josef Mengele is puzzling. Without having seen László Nemes’ Árva, it is difficult to believe that it could be less interesting than the majority of the films selected. As the festival looks now, it doesn’t make much sense to attend the festival this year. Maybe that might change with additions. Last year, thirteen films were added 11 days after the presentation. Among them were The Seed of the Sacred Fig and Flow. Of course, La Semaine de la Critique and Quinzaine des Cineastes will present their selections next week, but It is difficult to imagine that it will make much difference.
A Simple Accident – Jafar Panahi
Alpha – Julia Ducournau
Dossier 137 – Dir. Dominik Moll
Eagles Of The Republic – Tarik Saleh
Eddington – Ari Aster
Fuori – Mario Martone
La Petite Derniere – Hafsia Herzi
Mastermind – Kelly Reichardt
Nouvelle Vague – Richard Linklater
Renoir – Chie Hayakawa
Romería – Carla Simón
Sentimental Value – Joachim Trier
Sirat – Oliver Laxe
Sound Of Falling – Mascha Schilinsk
The History Of Sound – Oliver Hermanus
The Phoenician Scheme – Wes Anderson
The Secret Agent – Kleber Mendoca Filho
The Young Mother’s Home – The Dardenne Brothers
Two Prosecutors – Sergei Loznitsa
Aisha Can’t Fly Away -Morad Mostafa
Caravan – Zuzana Kirchnerová
Eleanor The Great – Scarlett Johansson
Heads Or Tails? – Alessio Rigo de Righi, Matteo Zoppis
Homebound – Neeraj Ghaywan
The Last One For The Road – Francesco Sossai
L’inconnu de la Grande Arche – Stéphane Demoustier
Meteors – Hubert Charuel
The Mysterious Gaze Of The Flamingo – Diego Céspedes
My Father’s Shadow – Akinola Davies Jr
The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo – Diego Céspedes
Once Upon A Time In Gaza – Tarzan Nasser and Arab Nasser
A Pale View Of The Hills – Kei Ishikawa
Pillion – Harry Lighton
Promised Sky – Erige Sehiri
The Plague, Charlie Polinger
Urchin – Harris Dickinson
The Coming Of The Future, Cedric Klapisch
Highest 2 Lowest by Spike Lee
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, Christopher McQuarrie
The Richest Woman in the World – Thierry Klifa
Partir un jour, Amélie Bonnin – opening film
Vie Privée – Rebecca Zlotowski
Amrum – Fatih Akin
Connemara – Alex Lutz
Splitsville – Michael Angelo Covino
The Disappearance Of Josef Mengele – Kirill Serebrennikov
Orwell – Raoul Peck
The Wave – Sebastian Lélio
Stories Of Surrender, Bono – Andrew Dominik
The Magnificent Life of Marcel Pagnol – Sylvain Chomet
Tell Her I Love Her – Romane Bohringer
Dalloway – Yann Gozlan
Songs Of The Neon Night, Juno Mak
The Exit 8 -Genki Kawamura
به وردپرس خوش آمدید. این اولین نوشتهٔ شماست. این را ویرایش یا حذف کنید، سپس نوشتن را شروع نمایید!
