Movie reviews of Filipe Freitas

Painful into-the-lens confessions bolster the tone with a desperate, beseeching stare, while Tindersticks’ wistful song, which gave the film its title, cuts to the heart as soon as the final credits roll. It’s one of those cerebral love triangles that does not resolve in any form. Review

Mentioning Hitchcockian voyeurism would be too strained and nothing here is going to knock you off your feet, but the film keeps us entertained and pretty much on the edge of our seats until the end. Review

Shot with a vague poetic sense and employing a sensory staging that draws energy from people and the naturalistic surroundings alike, this film immerses us in an uncanny environment, almost between the real and the surreal. Review

The Black Phone quickly reveals its true face: a clumsy thriller that drags its ambitions far beyond its means, forging ahead with the kind of conviction that will keep horror thriller junkies sitting bolt upright. Are you there? Hello? I’m hanging up now… What a shame! Review

In the end, Yerzhanov, who co-wrote the script in partnership with Roelof Jan Minneboo, manages to make us feel some sympathy for the devil. Review

The directors spin this provocative low-key story with smart observations on obsession and character, finding the appropriate form while distilling nerve, charm, and some eccentricity in the mix. There’s art within a film that also seeks to be a form of stylish art itself. And it succeeds, categorically. Review

Karmalink has other great things besides its title: it’s Cambodia’s first sci-fi film, with an apt direction, and Robert Leitzell's top cinematography guaranteeing a spot-on control of color and light. Review

And yet, the script reveals some inventiveness. As for the visuals - capturing a blend of gothic and toxic atmospheres - and the foreboding score by regular collaborator Howard Shore, they are a perfect fit. Review

Bit by bit, the portrait of a complex character full of contradictions and distressed by Catholic guilt takes shape. It’s not a happy story, not even sympathetic, but rather a deeply fascinating one. Review

Punk rebellion reins here, and you better be prepared for some quite nasty scenes. Definitely not for all audiences but with a guaranteed audience niche for itself. Review

Both the lively rhythm and classic filmmaking are adequate, in a campy but effervescent tribute film that makes for a spikily funny watch. Review

Combining a legitimate dramatic structure with enchanting visual results, Apollo 10 1/2 is an immersive fantasy stripped of stiffness, where one finds comfort, loveliness, and sweet moments of grace. Review

The film is basically divided into two aspects: the flourishing friendship between Cruz and Sugarman, and the exciting moments of basketball. Forgoing cheap shots, Hustle is fairly entertaining and possibly something more for the fans of the sport. Review

Murina is an impressive story of emancipation carried by convincing performances and well-drawn characters that bring authenticity to it. Review

Stylishly prurient and slightly anarchic, this little genre film is easy to watch, but lacks new blood and real scares, stuttering in its outrageous dreaminess. Review

Sometimes the film could have used a certain glow of poetry to enhance the protagonist’s perspective and candidness. Fortunately, the process of self-discovery depicted here is saved from sentimentality. Review

If the conventional plot is not particularly memorable, then the gorgeous cinematography that sharpens the scenic countryside of Montana becomes the real attraction of the film. Review

However, the qualities we find here - the score/sound design by Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury (a combination of eerie, ethereal and penetrating sounds) is absolutely phenomenal - easily overcome the quibbles. Whether this cryptic nightmare is your cup of tea or not, it’s very hard to ignore it. Review

Not fascinated by it, I found as many pathetic situations as funny lines - the lighthearted, funny dialogues between Sean (Cyler) and Kunle (Watkins) are the film’s best offering - in this tenuous dramatization of a serious episode. Review

The soundtrack, just like the eloquent prolixity, has no impact at all in the context presented. Overall, this is all too dramatic and obtuse to fully satisfy. Review

This Competition is a pitch-perfect joke that, at times, breaks up the vibes with unevenly inspired sketches. However, it never runs totally out of steam. Review

Kosinski, who understood how to equalize the romance, the drama and the action in the film, is not interested in dazzling us with mind bending ideas or twisty plots. Instead, he sticks with a stylistically coherence that becomes all the more powerful as the film advances. Review

Abbott’s performance is counterpointed nicely by Carmichael. This is your chance to see them going nuts. Madness and reason play cat and mouse in a gratifying mess with the ability to extract ‘inappropriate’ humor from tragic situations. Review

At specific spots, the film loses some balance without ever really affecting the terrorizing heart of the story This is thanks to Heikkilä’ gradually more unhinged performance, as well as to the director’s emphasis on sarcasm and atmosphere. Review