Little Ashes

Let’s not kid ourselves: The reason this sudsy period piece—about the harmonic convergence of poet Federico García Lorca, artist Salvador Dalí and filmmaker Luis Buñuel—is getting any real attention is the presence of Twilight heartthrob Robert Pattinson as Dalí. The film, which opens in 1922 Madrid, rises and falls with Pattinson, who is clearly not yet ready for such a delicious burden. In more skilled hands, this largely speculative look at the complex bonds between these three Spanish titans of 20th-century art could have been an interesting project. But as it stands, this visually striking film neglects both the socio-political repression of Madrid and Matthew McNulty’s fascinating Buñuel in favor of the more titillating threads.