A Mosquito in The Ear (Nicola Rinciari, 2026): United States

Reviewed by Alexis Renteria. Viewed at SBIFF.

A Mosquito in the Ear is an emotionally charged drama film that delves into the real life story of a couple traveling to India to adopt a little girl, based on an Italian graphic novel written by Andrea Ferraris. The film explores the challenges the family faces trying to understand one another. The film was shown on opening night of the Santa Barbara Film Festival, setting a tone of embracing one another and promoting empathy. 

After having read the graphic novel, director Nicola Rinciari felt compelled to bring the story to the big screen. Rinciari explained in a panel held the day after opening night that he resonated with the story as someone who left his own country of origin at a young age. This connection is expressed through the tenderness in which he depicts the young girl, Sarvari’s, homeland of India. Sarvari is played by the magnetic young actor, Ruhi Pal, this being her debut role. Acting alongside her are Jake Lacy, known for his performances in The Office and The White Lotus, and Nazanin Boniadi who starred in Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The pair gel together balancing a comedic lightness from Lacy, with an emotional weight from Nazanin. 

The film opens with a plane flying overhead as a young girl holds a paper airplane up in the sky. We meet Andrew and Daniela, a wide eyed American couple preparing to meet the young girl they have been waiting to adopt for the past several years. Upon arriving in India, the two are picked up by Sister Aruna (Micky Singh) from the orphanage where Sarvari lives. They nervously anticipate the moment when they get to meet their future daughter. When they finally get to meet her, they are astonished by how perfect she seems. It all appears too good to be true but when the couple tries to leave with Sarvari, they quickly realize that their perfect angel does not want to leave with them. The rest of the film follows as the family tries desperately to understand one another and convince Sarvari to come to the United States with her new parents. Along the way Andrew and Daniela find their patience and relationship challenged as they grapple with the exhausting feat of becoming parents. 

Throughout the film there is an emphasis on the threat of Sarvari having India taken away from her on a literal and cultural scale. Andrew and Daniela cannot speak hindi and therefore struggle to communicate with Sarvari who does not speak english. In a scene in the third act of the film, Sarvari touches an elephant statue thoughtfully before walking away. This poignant moment of symbolism encapsulates this grief and admiration for one’s motherland. In contrast, in favor of the perspective of Andrew and Daniela, there are repeatedly used aerial shots of locations in India. These vast shots emphasize the new world the couple find themselves in, and how in over their heads they feel about not only the country but also parenthood. I am reminded of the film Instant Family, which is another story about adoptive families. 

A Mosquito in the Ear is far from a perfect film. While the film creates empathy for the family, there is much to be desired in terms of the characterization of Sarvari. I wish more time would’ve been spent giving her perspective. For the majority of the film the audience, much like the parents, are unable to understand what Sarvari is saying. This was an intentional decision to emphasize the disconnect within the family however, in some ways it takes away from the personalization of Sarvari. The film does have many tender and bittersweet moments, the concept alone is quite complex. I would say for all these reasons the film is worth watching.