Movie reviews of Filipe Freitas

Compact and modest in its storytelling, this film can be both heartwarming and heart-wrenching in equal measure. Review

Hüller exudes dazzling charisma and oozes class with her performance, while Triet is at the top of her game, creating a precise, intelligent portrait of a free woman whose confidence and composure never seem shaken. Review

Despite the formless ramble of its structure and the emotional distance that impairs some its scenes, the film tackles an interesting topic and features reasonably solid performances. Review

Carney seemed inclined to embrace the realism of directors like Ken Loach, but then gets too busy honey-coating musical sequences marred by cloying sentimentality. Sadly, they never fill you up. Review

It falls short of realizing its full potential, with a conclusion that doesn't quite measure up to the rest of the narrative. Review

This amalgamation of gangsta-rap and gangland themes is a soulless misfire from a director we know capable of delivering better. Review

More corny than enthralling, and constantly overacted, Full River Red fails to emotionally invest the audience in the narrative. Lamentably, Yimou didn’t put enough effort into this one to provoke or engage the viewer. Review

At times, the story may follow predictable patterns, but it remains consistently fascinating, steeped in lyrical enchantment and fierce determination. What truly lends the film its mesmerizing atmosphere is the quietly radiant black-and-white cinematography by Brazilian cinematographer Lílis Soares. Review

The material offered the potential to create something thought-provoking and didactic, but he squandered the chance by allowing an invertebrate scenario. Review

Silva's direction falters while striving to shock the audience at every juncture, and the repetitive scenes never compensate the lack of ideas. Review

Bottoms provides gay-themed material aimed at teens with a level of insight that rarely rises above standard parody. It didn’t resonate with me, but at least the cast appears to have had a blast in this feminist celebration of love, youth, and friendship. Review

Equipped with daring shots, classical arias, religious chants, and a fair dose of madness, the ultra-hype El Conde is delirious and violent. Review

Provocative without being excessively flamboyant, Cassandro is endowed with remarkable performances, underlining themes of freedom, courage, and ambition in most scenes; it offers an engrossing exploration of Saul’s duality in life. Review

The director remains on the surface, weaving a crass hodgepodge of elements that don’t fully coalesce. However, respectable performances by Asante Blackk, Kylie Rogers, and Tiffany Haddish were a positive surprise, and that paid off in places. Review

While employing some familiar horror tropes and encountering minor stumbling blocks in the plot, the film masterfully maintains a grip on the audience, evoking a sense of unease throughout. Review

Even with some deviations from historical truth, the director provides a fair view of the artist and his personality, in a ballsy move that avoids the pitfalls of academicism and period dramas. Review

Playing with twisted dimensions and labyrinthine layers, Aster squanders the chance to lead a few good ideas to fruition. The result, much less fascinating than expected, is congested and appalling. Review

I found myself struggling to find the laughs while observing avid women battling one another fiercely for dominance and acceptance. Review

Amerkatsi doesn't transcend drama or comedy conventions, but uses the steep contrast between injustice and human values to bolster its narrative; all with the help of a full-blooded direction, a gently satirical tone, and fine performances. Review

The realistic depiction, clarity of purpose, occasional gallows humor, and crucial message - with equality and freedom of choice at the center - are the reasons for the movie’s success, but the execution is a bit tacky, when it could have been aesthetically cinematic. Review

Carrying a rare intensity in the narrative, which recalls literary works by Dostoyevsky and Bulgakov, the film is overwhelmingly painful; an original moral tale that, in the guise of a survival thriller, seeks for a trace of humanity. This is grim yet powerful cinema. Review

Huesera, a downright effort composed with trenchant expressions and a spellbinding atmosphere, prefers subtle suggestions to overt statements. Review

Sadly terrifying and often repulsive, Sick of Myself is not a film I'm likely ever to revisit but is well directed, acted, and observed, even if it takes that observation to a deliberately disturbing satirical degree. Review

One of those cases where the tedium outweighed the anticipation. Review