Movie reviews of Victor Fraga

This 129-minute drama with an equally long title is neither particularly inventive nor subversive. This is a forbidden love story you’ve seen many times before. The sex scenes are credible and steamy, and strangely moving. Review

BlackBerry isn’t a celebratory movie, but instead a caustic comedy, often bordering on the farcical and absurd. Review

It is a well-intentioned but also highly romanticised documentary. It fails to denounce the big culprits, to hold big firms accountable for the damage they continue to inflict on our planet. This is more of celebratory than a denunciation piece of filmmaking. Review

Two men and a bird are trapped within the confines of a remote rural house, in this highly elliptical, meditative Bulgarian film dotted with folklore references. Review

Metatextual documentary investigates the impact that documentaries have on their subjects, and the revelations are sobering. Review

Profoundly entertainment romcom reveal the dirty machinations of “assisted” marriage in the UK and in Pakistan, all with a very lighthearted and moving touch. Review

Despite the effective script, the audacious, riveting topic and the dirty depiction of Iran (that you won’t anywhere else), Holy Spider is not a perfect film. Review

Despite the vintage cinematography and Colman’s performance, Empire of Light is not a masterpiece. A dull script, penned by Mendes himself, prevents both the romance and the racial issues from developing full-blossom. Review

Within Sand is a love letter to the country’s pulsating landscape. The desert is indeed the heart and the soul of the Arabic nation. Review

Spectacular Moroccan movie blends to perfection the topics of gay love and terminal disease. Review

This interesting little story makes multiple commentaries on female oppression, and it has a couple of clever twists. But it also has an extra dose of saccharine. The story often slips into cutesy melodrama territory. Review

Two young women from Norway find intimacy and comfort... on a chair!!! Unabashedly slow movie. Review

Phenomenal Romanian drama exposes the dirty tactics of youth oppression during the Communist era. Review

In other words, this is not a film that will make you cry, however it is educational and pleasant enough to watch. Review

A lone and devoted scientist studies and records the fauna and the flora of a remote Canadian Island for five decades - reflective documentary. Review

Young Tunisian man has to fend for himself and his two younger sisters, in a country that offers his generation very few opportunities - tantalising drama. Review

Dirtylicious Angolan gumbo of a movie blends religion, reason and colonialism into one single recipe. Review

If you don’t have much money, you should either keep your movie simple or find innovative solutions, instead of pretending that you are making a big blockbuster. The Last Queen is indeed an ambitious film, however it is barely audacious... Review

A Syrian refugee falls in love with an Ethiopian migrant worker, but their relationship has more obstacles than they anticipated - quirky Lebanese parable of (failed) social integration. Review

On the other hand, Hanging Gardens, lacks emotional vigour. The script often borders on the infantile, and the performances don’t always rise to the level of expectations required. As a result, the film often feels vapid and cold. Review

Super lighthearted Lebanese comedy about sauntering nuns smitten with a young actor cast to play the Pope caters mostly for Arab sensibilities. Review

Iranian filmmaker delivers magnificent piece of black and white, slow cinema about a mother released from prison and desperate to be reunited with her son. Review

Mino’s third film feels very puerile, infantile, almost as if it was made for children. Except that it isn’t. Review

While worth a view, And Yet We Were Blind is not a perfect film. The various subplot don’t always gel together, and ultimately feel banal. Review