Littlerock (2011)

80% of critics liked it
(25 reviews)
63% of users liked it
(531 ratings)

A sleepy Los Angeles exurb and its shiftless young residents are seen through the eyes of two Japanese tourists in this intimate evocation of a small town in Southern California where everyone's talking but no one really understands. -- (C) Official Site

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Directed By: Mike Ott
Written By: Mike Ott, Atsuko Okatsuka
Genres: Drama, Comedy

In Theaters: Aug 12, 2011 Limited
Studio: Variance Films

Critic Reviews

Tom Keogh, Seattle Times
Ott has explored his theme - how each person's destiny is propelled by the past but left dangling, isolated in a seemingly formless present - with great subtlety.
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe
[Ott's] distilled the town until it floats somewhere between a hangover and a dream.
David Lewis, San Francisco Chronicle
This evocative, deceptively rich slice of life has its own voice, and it never fails to be enjoyable for several reasons.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
"Littlerock" tells a confident story that knows precisely where it's going.
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times
An ethereal and ephemeral musing on the art and artifice of communication.
Lou Lumenick, New York Post
Mike Ott's rambling, mildly engaging micro-budgeted indie.
Burl Burlingame, Honolulu Star-Advertiser
A neatly plotted, observational film about being on the outside looking in, and on the inside looking out.
Michael Nordine, Film Threat
A restrained but visually arresting film about the various ways in which we reach out to one another, often to no avail.
Andrea Chase, Killer Movie Reviews
Expectations are subverted, assumptions exploded, and the meaningless nature of words is replaced by the importance of conversation
Brent Simon, Shockya.com
Writer-director Mike Ott constructs a cutesy, willfully modest and submissive cultural mash-up, and proclaims it profound, or art, merely by virtue of its construction.
Avi Offer, NYC Movie Guru
A mildly engaging, slight and somewhat breezy slice-of-life drama that's instantly forgettable.
Edward Douglas, ComingSoon.net
It's always great that movies like this can be made for so little money, but when the results are so dull and derivative, the only real question is "Why bother?"
David Noh, Film Journal International
Mumblecore to the core, Littlerock takes an eternity to get started, but eventually gains in (very) low-key interest.
Bill Weber, Slant Magazine
Director Mike Ott's second narrative feature cannily plays its intentions close to the vest.
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
A character-driven cross-cultural drama about the adolescent quest for new experiences and the realization of the mysteries that lie behind relationships and reality.

Read all 15 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Michael S

"Littlerock" follows two Japanese siblings, Atsuko and Rintaro; out to experience America fist hand. With San Francisco in their sights, a vehicular breakdown leaves them "stranded" in the sleepy, Southern California town. They soon immerse themselves in a group of… More
"Littlerock" follows two Japanese siblings, Atsuko and Rintaro; out to experience America fist hand. With San Francisco in their sights, a vehicular breakdown leaves them "stranded" in the sleepy, Southern California town. They soon immerse themselves in a group of seemingly directionless twenty-somethings and Atsuko, unable to speak or understand a word of English, inevitable become the object of affection for a few of her new male acquaintances. "Littlerock" is just about as lo-fi as independent cinema gets, but it nails one thing brilliantly; it makes us feel as lost and culturally isolated as Atsuko and her brother... even though we understand the language of their new confidants. This lack of universal communication and it's frustrations is the reason that the filmmakers decided to tell this particularly low-key yarn, and they nail it. But as per usually in films like this, there are some cringe-inducing performances littered throughout from non-professional or first time actors, and extended scenes (of boozing and booze induced babel) that linger almost Malick style! These scenes are intentional and are implemented to further our connection to Atsuko in particular, but they are nevertheless tedious and even hard to sit through on occasion. There is an indulgence here responsible for extending what is a very good short film into a feature length one. The two Japanese leads (Atsuko Okatsuka and Rintaro Sawamoto) however are very solid, as is Cory Zacharia playing a tragic character in love with Atsuko, but unable to express his feelings to her or anyone else for that matter. These three actors are the backbone of the picture, and are the reason to watch it. Zacharia's performance is quite quirky and off-putting until subtle layers are reveled and we realize we know many a people just like him. For a film so ripe with flaws, "Littlerock" has a conclusion of uncommon emotional weight. It's poetic and quite devastating in it's own way and pretty masterful in it's execution. Director Mike Ott conducts a noteworthy experiment here, but even at a mere 84 minutes it wears out it's welcome. There are so many interesting elements, from it's concept to it's remarkable ending, that recommending it comes easy. It would have garnered an even stronger recommendation as the short film it deserves to be.
John B

It is a slice of Americana that perhaps most Americans would not want to see but Atsuko clearly finds more in a directionless community than any of the sights and sounds of San Francisco. Wonderful personal interactions between characters who communicate without knowing each… More
It is a slice of Americana that perhaps most Americans would not want to see but Atsuko clearly finds more in a directionless community than any of the sights and sounds of San Francisco. Wonderful personal interactions between characters who communicate without knowing each others' languages.

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Cast

Atsuko Okatsuka
as Atsuko Sakamoto
Cory Zacharia
as Cory Lawler
Rintaro Sawamoto
as Rintaro Sakamoto
Brett L. Tinnes
as Jordan Doniel
Roberto Sanchez
as Francisco
Matthew Fling
as Garbo
Ryan Dillon
as Brody Butler
Markiss McFadden Jr.
as Marques Wright
Sean Neff
as Sean Tippy
Roberto 'Sanz' Sanchez
Ivy Khan
Lee Lynch
Markiss McFadden

See more (13)

Littlerock (2011)

Critic Reviews

Featured Audience Ratings

Michael S

John B

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