Well Hello, Dali! New film explores artist's gay leanings

A new UK/Spanish production explores the sexual relationship between legendary artists Salvador Dali and his countryman Federico Garcia Lorca, whose close friendship has long been a subject of speculation, thanks in part to Dali's repeated claims that Lorca had tried to seduce him.

The film, Little Ashes, stars Robert Pattinson (best known as playing poor Cedric Diggory in the fourth Harry Potter film) as the legendary surrealist painter, and Spanish actor Javier Beltran as poet Lorca, who was openly gay during his short life. (The poet was murdered during the Spanish Civil War.)

The movie comes from Brit Paul Morrison, whose film Solomon and Gaenor was nominated for a Best Foreign Language Academy Award in 2000. The film promises to be "racy and sexy" and also features surrealist filmmaker Luis Bunuel in a major role, although the emphasis appears to be on the curious arrangement that otherwise heterosexual Dali and gay Lora arrived at to share intimate moments.

Screenwriter Philippa Goslett defends the film's approach, noting:

"Having done a huge amount of research, it's clear something happened, no question ... It began as a friendship, became more intimate and moved to a physical level but Dali found it difficult and couldn't carry on. He said they tried to have sex but it hurt, so they couldn't consummate the relationship. Considering Dali's massive hang-ups, it's not surprising."

Well, if Dali couldn't consummate the relationship because it hurt, maybe Lorca was the one with the "massive hangups". Either way, we'll be keeping an eye on this one...