| Overall Grade: |
B- |
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| Story: |
B- |
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| Acting: |
B |
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| Direction: |
B- |
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| Visuals: |
B |
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Ashes to Ashes
by Yahoo! Movies User (movies profile)
Jun 29, 2009
1
of
2 people found this review helpful
Last week I had the opportunity to view Little Ashes, an independent film that reportedly dealt with the life of Salvador Dali. I say “reportedly” because I discovered upon viewing the film that it really was about forbidden love, homosexual love, between two artists, one a young poet and another a budding painter.
One of the problems with the movie was that it tried to compress too many topics into too short a film. As a result, the viewer is left unsatisfied. One subplot, for example, deals with the political landscape within Spain during the Jazz Age and, later, in the revolutionary chaos of the Spanish Civil War.
The Great War had unleashed enormous violence and revolution. More importantly, it had fueled doubt about what to believe in. Communists, anarchists, and fascists contended to become the face of the modern world that was arising from the ruins of that war. Meanwhile, traditionalists in various guises shook in horror at the rise of a world they hoped, even prayed, to destroy before it destroyed them. Within Spain itself, landowners, clerics and the military stood ready to defend Christ and Country from Marxism, atheism, and debauchery.
None of this is explained in the movie despite repeated references to the political landscape. In one scene, for example, we learn that Salvador Dali is an anarchist. In another, we hear Federico Garcia Lorca being criticized for writing about butterflies.
To be certain, there are two scenes where there is at least an attempt at an explanation. The first is a dinner party hosted by Magdalena’s aunt where Salvador Dali and Federico Garcia Lorca engage in boorish behavior aimed at antagonizing the other guests, who represent the ruling elites in Spain. The second is a scene where the poet is urging his fellow artists to sign a petition. Neither of these scenes, however, really tells us much about their beliefs, other than that they are anti-fascist.
Against this backdrop, Federico and Salvador form a close relationship that ultimately leads to forbidden love and its tragic aftermath. Spain was a devoutly Catholic country during this period. Sodomy is one of the seven deadly sins. Sexual love between two men is an abomination in the eyes of the Church.
Federico becomes afraid when he realizes that he is in love with Salvador. He even prays to the Virgin Mary to forgive him for his dark thoughts. Salvador seems too naïve to understand what is happening. When the love is consummated in a sexual act, both recoil from what has occurred. Meanwhile, Federico’s “*****-hag”, Magdalena, continues to hold out for the possibility that Federico will eventually sell out to respectability by marrying her.
For anyone who is homosexual and old enough to remember what life was like for most homosexuals in the pre-Stonewall era, this movie will bring back uncomfortable memories. We listen to the Luis Bunuel character saying that “faggots” deserve 15 years in prison for their despicable behavior; later, he is seen attacking the man whom he lures into a dark byway to perform fellatio on him. Then, near the end of Federico’s short life, we see Salvador trying unsuccessfully to resume their relationship in Paris while he is still married to another woman.
Overall, by trying to accomplish too much, the movie failed to convey adequately the tragedy that this forbidden love has unleashed. |
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