Filmrecensies van Filipe Freitas

With this new film, Charlie Kaufman confirms his tendency for knotty, moody, suspenseful writing/storytelling crammed with references to past lives, time discontinuities, memory tricks and baffling developments. Recensie

Egyptian director Youssef Chahine makes his most personal statement with An Egyptian Story, which, not having the magnetism of Cairo Station (1958), encapsulates some metaphoric scenes that implies both self-analysis and self-acceptance. Recensie

The film gradually loses strength and focus as it moves forward. Recensie

Obsessive mad love in a Japanese samurai classic that, despite not crammed with sword battles, possesses a continuous, intense dramatic flair. Recensie

Teinosuke Kinugasa’s avant-garde/experimental horror reflection is also infused with scary moments and emotional turmoil. Recensie

With a compelling narrative and a surprising, heartbreaking finale, The Garden Left Behind satisfies as a whole. Yet, it couldn’t hide a couple of less effective scenes... Recensie

Never haunting or hypnotic, the film basically relies on self-obsession to succeed, and any interest in Ahmed as a character may evaporate in no time. The conclusion is more ludicrous than shocking. Recensie

Although Vitalina Varela is not his best film, it feels like a classy lesson in introspective cinema. It’s a relentlessly grim tale of immigration, suffering, and loneliness that deserves to be contemplated. Recensie

Sadly, the positive atmospheric set-up terminates abruptly with the first death. The film never fulfills the potential offered by a farcical yet mysterious inception. Recensie

Balanced in tone and devastating in its conclusion, Clemency provides a refreshing alternative to the death-row-themed movies, addressing the problem from an uncommon angle. Recensie

Queen of Hearts is a scandalous guilty pleasure that works so well because it’s patiently build with methodical accuracy and brutal authenticity. By focusing on a woman whose exploitative voluptuousness she coldly accepts, el-Toukhy provides us with a tough viewing, but not a superficial experience. Recensie

As expected, the romance was not as wild as the action, and the lurid aesthetics never compensate the overstuffness of the plot. It’s a visceral experience, nonetheless. Recensie

Intermittently interesting at an early stage, the film keeps oscillating between solid and patchy, and eventually grows in disappointment as climaxes and thrills are taken to a minimum. Recensie

The wit is mordantly dark and one just has to settle back and let this tremendous account do the rest. Expect to be knocked out by a devastatingly potent finale. Recensie

Bait is a tenacious, chillingly blunt, and unsentimental examination of a current topic that is getting out of control. It packs a punch by offering equal doses of fascination and disquietness, and deserves praise for combining extraordinary visuals captured by a vintage hand-cranked Bolex camera, a captivating intriguing mood, intelligent filmmaking techniques, and compelling performances. Recensie

Driver’s lean and tight performance is what keeps the story minimally fueled, even when the movie stalls at its most frustrating passivity. In truth, what the film lacks in cinematic flair it makes up for in the one man’s unshakable determination to find the truth. Recensie

Mutating into a documentary-style approach, Ozon has a talented cast helping him stabilize the narrative disproportion whenever the film goes up and down in tone. Sometimes, we have the feeling that the story doesn’t go anywhere, but what the film lacks in the tension department, it compensates in exposing an uncomfortable truth that led Preynat to attempt blocking the release of the film in court. Recensie

The title is multivalent, the storytelling keeps us hooked, the direction is uncomplicated, and the members of the cast deliver performances that are as raw, brave, and tough as the characters they play. Sorry We Missed You might not be Loach’s best film, but it’s a damn good one. Recensie

More interested in surface flash than character depth, Freaks is a powerless surreal lunacy overstuffed with trivialities. It's a freak of a movie that grows busier than mysterious, and for this reason, will unlikely create a positive impact. Recensie

Disarmingly simplistic at a first sight, Monos has its fine moments of raw intensity, hiding more complex nuances in between the lines. It’s intriguing enough to worth a look, but in the end, not much of it sticks with us. Recensie

The rawness of the images combines with the poignancy of the story in a honest examination of a young life shattered by several social problems. Although scripted with plenty of incident, Socrates presents a mediocre conclusion. However, that aspect doesn't undermine the severity and importance of the topics addressed. Quite strong are the first appearances from young actors Malheiros and Ordakji. Recensie

Never veering into excessive sentimentality, this absorbing courtroom drama denounces pure racial disdain and cynical manipulation of facts. It can be utterly uncomfortable. Recensie

Polemics aside, the director, prompted by an immediate and fluid storytelling, mounted some scenes that not always feel authentic. However, he makes a clear-eyed look about the failings and transgressions of American law enforcement agencies in their urgency to find a culprit. Hauser fuels this uneven account with an excellent performance. Recensie

It’s a terrifying, grim look at war, filled with devastating post-battle scenarios, pushing-forward energy and acute tension. Recensie