Love & Art Rise From Little Ashes
By Chris Carpenter
Three students met at a Madrid university in 1922 and would go on to become famous figures — not only in Spain, but around the world. Salvador Dali, Luis Bunuel and Federico Garcia Lorca were, at the time, young, unknown men who would make lasting impressions through surrealist art, avant-garde film and politically charged poetry.
The fascinating movie Little Ashes (scheduled to open in the Los Angeles area on March 27) reveals that there was much more going on at the time between these three budding artists than their academic studies. Dali and Garcia Lorca, in particular, shared a tortured romance (of which Bunuel was aware) that didn’t become known until after Dali’s death in 1989.
At the time, Spanish society was beset by economic depression, class tensions and political corruption. These conditions bred a conservative backlash by Spain’s military and the Catholic Church that would lead to the persecution of intellectuals, artists and homosexuals. Dali and Bunuel fled for France, while Garcia Lorca remained and was killed in 1936 by the military government for his liberal writings.
While Dali and Bunuel gained immediate, worldwide attention for their works — thanks to the controversial 1928 film on which they collaborated, Un Chien Andalou — any mention or promotion of Garcia Lorca’s work was prohibited until 1953 by the Spanish government. Since then, however,
Garcia Lorca has become regarded as one of Spain’s most beloved poets.
The love affair between Garcia Lorca and Dali was apparently ignited during a holiday they spent together in Dali’s hometown of Cadaques, Spain. While it is depicted in Little Ashes (the film’s title is taken from a poem Garcia Lorca wrote for Dali) as a chaste romance due to Garcia Lorca’s Catholic guilt and Dali’s sexually troubled past, theirs was clearly a union of mind and heart.
Little Ashes is educational and sensual. Impressively directed by Paul Morrison (Solomon & Gaenor), it evokes the upper-class and sexually repressive atmosphere of E. M. Forster’s novel Maurice, as well as the poetry and passion of the film Like Water for Chocolate. The film’s intelligent, well-researched script is by first-time screenwriter Philippa Goslett.
The cast of Little Ashes is extraordinary. Robert Pattinson (Twilight) plays Dali. Matthew McNulty excels in the less-showy role of Bunuel. McNulty captures the famed director’s bourgeois style, dark humor and propensity for opportunistic self-preservation.
McNulty also sums up with one look the love-hate relationship Bunuel had with Dali (Dali eventually denounced Bunuel as a Communist to the House Un-American Activities Committee while Bunuel was working in the United States).
Newcomer Javier Beltran stars as Garcia Lorca, the central figure in these artists’ creative and romantic triangles. Beltran’s portrayal of the writer is beautifully understated, and he makes Garcia Lorca’s longing for Dali all the more palpable. It’s hard to believe this is Beltran’s first film role, because his performance is so accomplished.
Visually, the film is gorgeous. Between the Spanish locations, Pere Francesch’s sets and Antonio Belart’s costumes, the film perfectly captures the setting and period.
Adam Suschitzky’s photography draws from the artists’ own styles and imagery, and his use of light is breathtaking during a nighttime sequence as Garcia Lorca and Dali frolic in the sea.
Also of note is the original music score by Miguel Mera, as well as the film’s use of period songs and music. The Latin-flavored
sounds accentuate the visuals and Mera’s carnival-esque theme underscores Dali’s personality and conflicted desires.
Far from a sensationalistic gay take on the early years of real-life figures, Little Ashes is a mature yet provocative docudrama
that should be seen and discussed by everyone.