SANTA BARBARA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2026 REVIEW! Any parent will tell you that raising children is tough. For people who don’t have kids, it’s difficult to truly comprehend all of the unique challenges that come with the role. The tantrums, the messes, and the constant need for something can try even the most patient of us. Now throw in the added obstacle of adopting a young girl from an orphanage who has affectionately only known that place and the people there. So, of course, she runs away from her new American parents in the foreign land of India. And thus, you get the compelling emotional family drama film A Mosquito in the Ear, directed by Nicola Rinciari and written by Rinciari, Emily Dillard, Darren Dean, and Samina Motlekar.
The independent drama is based on a true story that we get to see footage from in the end credits. It stars Jake Lacy and Nazanin Boniadi as the parents, Andrew and Daniela, and Ruhi Pal as their newly adopted four-year-old daughter, Sarvari. Micky Singh also stars as Sister Aruna, who works at the orphanage and accompanies the family around India to try to help with the transition. Upon first meeting at the orphanage, Sarvari appears to be shy and even welcoming when she helps serve her new parents’ food, but as soon as they leave the premises, it’s a completely different ballgame. The screaming tantrums and multiple attempts at running away start, with ketchup vomit and biting a glass till she bleeds thrown in between for good measure.
Andrew and Daniela walk side by side in India in A Mosquito in the Ear (2026).
“…adopting a young girl…in the foreign land of India…”
It’s just one obstacle after another, which is a harsh welcome to parenthood, but that’s the reality of it. It makes perfect sense when you realize that Sarvari is sorely missing all the other kids and nuns who cared for her. All of this leads to in-fighting between the severely stressed-out parents, which also rings true to real life. The final act features a successful runaway by Sarvari into the crowded streets of India, which is the worst nightmare for any parent.
The emotional finale had me in tears because the cast and crew built up to that resolution so authentically. A Mosquito in the Ear is the perfect metaphor for parenthood. It’s a battle, an unrelenting struggle, but at the same time, it’s absolutely worth it all. It’s all quite realistic, with Jake Lacy and Nazanin Boniadi pulling off the first-time parents in a hellish situation beautifully.
Ruhi Pal is so precious. She’s unrelenting in her screaming and anarchic behavior, yet you still feel for her. Amid the chaos, Pal reminds you that she’s still just a little girl who needs love. I felt for the parents in different ways: Daniela feels like she has two kids to take care of when her husband is not handling things well. Andrew has the added struggle of Sarvari not trusting men because she’s never been around them at the orphanage.
Whether you’re a parent yourself to relate to it all, or just curious to know what it can be like, A Mosquito in the Ear takes you from zero to one hundred of parenting faster than a Maserati.
A Mosquito in the Ear screened at the 2026 Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
"…the perfect metaphor for parenthood."
