Movie reviews of Filipe Freitas

Contradicting a recent tendency in the independent drama genre, Fourteen has a darker edge to it, but refuses to fall into immoderately lugubrious places, often plunging the inner disquietness of each character into an apparent tranquility and dissolving it in the daily life routines. Review

The slowly emerging details about the characters and their relationships keep us going, but both Soderbergh, who competently handles the photography with natural light, and the screenwriter Deborah Eisenberg could have used more mordant tones and humor to pepper it. It’s a pragmatic yet rippling navigational episode rescued by the performances. Review

Undine is not just an imaginative fairy tale; it’s also a love letter to Berlin and its urban development. Highly recommended. Review

Ford gives us a sincere, balanced account of a devastating situation, in a heart-rending drama whose conclusion leaves a terrible taste in the mouth. Complementing her focused camera work, the performances of the two leads proved to be determinant, and the film sticks with you after the credits roll. Review

The Mauritanian is a disarticulate, time-consuming, and nearly anesthetized drama thriller that’s not worth investing time in. Read the book instead. Review

No one should expect something clever from a sloppy round trip from Zamunda to America that comes relentlessly burdened with clichés of all stripes. Review

Without being flashy, the animation is workmanlike at best, and the fantastic story has a lot to like. Just sit back and enjoy, because this is not just a delightful film but an important one. Review

Never transcending, The Little Things pretends to be more than it is, and that pretense comes aggravated by the fact that its conclusion is stale and the process that leads to it remains hardly entertaining. Review

The film is not the epic that Amenábar envisioned since it struggles with some stiffness and timidness on a regular basis. Nevertheless, the shortage of narrative agility is compensated with historical substance, notable production values, Alex Catalan’s beautiful photography, and clarity in the exposition of a looming, dangerous dictatorship in the guise of patriotism. Review

Despite the positive performance from R&B singer Andra Day in her first major role, the film tells Holiday’s story with the wrong notes. It’s disappointing when we think how fluid, resonant and evocative this biopic could have been if appropriately and honestly built. Review

Persuasive for more than a third of its length, I Care a Lot stumbles in a few overdone scenes that, with the proper dedication from Blakeson, would have lead to a better outcome. Still, the film is a fun watch, moving stylishly and pulling out a couple of inflammatory twists. Review

If only the narrative were as gripping as Tucci’s performance, the film would have offered that stellar explosion that the title suggests. Instead, it just scintillates with an irregular cadence until the lights go completely off and we simply forget it. Review

The tension created out of an underlying fear is deeply suggestive but not enough to spare us from a frustrating cinematic experience in the end. Review

The film is jam-packed with information and stressed to the limit, but a closer look at the course of events makes us conclude that a trim would not be viable without jeopardizing the outcome. Review

On occasion, the film vacillates in terms of energy, but then we find spots where everything gets vibrant and trenchant again. The two indissiociable sides of the movement are clearly outlined - the activism against racial oppression and the armed wing as a response to unjust conditions and deliberate aggressions. Review

The pace, deliberately languid, is complemented with a glowing, well-composed cinematography, but the tension slowly fades away, leaving an illusive dreaminess floating in the air that is not completely cut and dried to me. I wish I could have liked this film more than I did. Review

Carried out in a flowing visual manner, Dear Comrades is both cold and moving. Review

Following an uncluttered narrative, the film alternates solid and crumbling moments, but never loses sight of a resolution. Review

Unfolding methodically with no ambiguities, the storytelling flows with interest but never reaches a climax per se as a consequence of scarce suspenseful moments. Instead, it burns with a constant flame that, never eradicating enjoyment, emits a light that never expands with novelty or surprise. Review

The visuals, not being particularly artful, are adequate, while the symbology linked to some sort of curse along with the necessity to extract the hidden truth from the Naderi family, play key factors here. Still, the film results more formulaic than twisted, and the minimally unsettling situations that occur in a blink of an eye are powerless to prevent it from sinking into the shadows of oblivion. Review

With strong acting and vivid narration, The White Tiger provides a darkly triumphant on-screen experience. Review

Being as much harrowing as entertaining, A White, White Day will likely be considered thought-provoking for the ones interested in an atypically disturbing character study. Review

Ms. Kim refuses to play the melodrama and deserves an extra point for that, but the film lacks that emotional punch in the story and nuance in the characters that would have grabbed me in a different way. The most praiseworthy aspect here is Park’s assured performance, which helps to put an honest touch in the proceedings. Review

The cascading imagery evokes deep feelings and some segments are deepened with classical and jazz music. It's a powerful film, equal parts defeatist and exultant. Review