Movie reviews of Filipe Freitas

It’s an opportunity to get a history lesson on the matter, but the film only really shines on a few scattered powerful moments. It all came up more informative than fun. Review

There are wise words and decipherable silences throughout, and both the sensitivity and audacity of the director, who obtains the right nuances from the actors, are very much appreciated as it give us time to absorb and breathe lightly. Review

Benefitting from incredibly sincere performances from the four leads, Sorogoyen doles out a dark, shattering piece of filmmaking that is as brutal as it is essential. Review

The first half of the story maintains a modest charm while the second is more emotional and progressively clarifying. Linoleum is a lesson in how movies can escape stereotype and penetrate the hearts of rare characters. Review

His formidable film was the recipient of Cannes Grand Prix and lingers in my head since I’ve watched it. Review

The themes, emphasizing the clash between feelings and values, will resonate with free spirited individuals as much as it will upset fanatical religious devotees. Review

Pamfir finds limited options to deal with unexpected predicaments in a contemporary tragedy that is pretty decent but harsh. In his debut, and due to the script’s nature, Yatsentyuk conveys more action than emotion. His professionalism is never in question though. Review

Not even close to mind-blowing, Last Night of Amore still comes shrouded in an acceptable aura of obscurity that triggers curiosity. Review

Gravel’s realism finds the right pacing, and the taut script, although precise and controlled, is implemented with dynamic camera movements and an efficient editing that help extract tension from the real-world scenes. Review

The uninspired plotting comes with banal dialogue, while the action scenes, despite fast-paced, are pretty unimaginative regardless if they occur on land, air or water. Review

Petzold’s Afire is an erratic endeavor that can be considered minor within a filmography of so many accomplishments. Although imperfect, it deserves a favorable mention. Review

The one-dimensional characterization and a dead-earnest execution soon put an unusual spin on a story where nearly every beam that strives to hold it together collapses. But perhaps the biggest problem of all is that there's nothing here we haven't seen before. Review

Past Lives is keenly observed, expertly mounted, and marvelously acted. The build-up gains slow momentum but once it finds its rhythm, the film takes off to positively devastating places that will make your heart grow three sizes while watching it. Review

Both its surface and essence are phony but, worse than that, is the movie’s inability to offer any insight about anything. Asteroid City is equal parts tackiness and boredom. Review

Steeped in rich colored costumes and passionate emotions, the film achieves a delicate osmosis between commercial film and auteur cinema. It’s a mature exploration of a big theme, hampered only by its simplified, conventional storytelling. Review

The fearless Ferrara tries to tackle this fascinating character but loses traction in a film that, asking the right questions, never finds dramatically persuasive answers. Review

You Hurt My Feelings is an insufferably cute rom-com but I have absolutely no qualms in saying that it misses out on something. Although the director and her cast bring some funny situations to keep the story going, the film leans more on the average side. Review

I felt that for every sublime moment the movie has to offer, there's a cinematic dead zone of indulgence that wipes it away. As a consequence, our interest wobbles in a story that promises more than delivers. Review

The film’s musical parts are inconsequential and, for their brevity, ludicrously whimsical; the pedestrian romance is without passion; the sixth sense and witchcraft suggestions feel like jokes; and the archival footage - with colorized and sepia frames - creates a completely redundant, even distracting tonal mishmash. Review

A quiet intensity and elegiac melancholy pervades the scenarios of a chamber film whose feelings and textures didn’t always resonate with the expected emotional weight. Review

Aggressively formulaic, the film is stitched with clichés and implausibilities. Review

The frustrating Master Gardener brings a message of inclusivity and redemption but forgets the thrills, never going far beyond the basic set-up. Review

Reichardt is subtle but incisive in her analysis. Showing Up is an observant, critical, gently lilting, and hyper-realistic account that uniquely captures the inner world of an introverted and peculiar artist. Review

Vapid at times, and with a deft camerawork refusing to cope with the story's confined temperament, the film is full of artifice to the point of absurdity. But that may just be the point of Cavalli, who keeps the humor, the drama and, let's face it, the goofy undertones that make this portrait of Italian bourgeoisie more derisive. Review