Movie reviews of Filipe Freitas

It’s easy to say that writer-director Justin Lerner and the pair of young actors showed dedication to the material, but it’s unfortunate that the tactlessness of most of the scenes hinders the final product. Review

The dialogue goes from philosophical and poetic to sloppy and banal, while the characters don’t pull enough truth from a story that really happened but surely with a lot more intensity than it’s presented here. Review

The young actors project a special authenticity that engages the viewer in an emotionally resonant story of true friendship and hope for a dignified, honest life that ends tragically. Review

Seidl can still hurt with his ferocious filmmaking style. He extracts a mix of caustic humor, corny drama, unseductive raw sex, and a sort of painful numbness from many of the scenes. Review

Wanecque and Mahaut win us with their performances, and the worst become the best as their candor emerges in front of an observant camera that is avid at capturing their reactions, whether spontaneous or imposed. Review

One Fine Morning has a few floundering moments, especially those when illness is involved. And yet, with sorrowful tears in her eyes, Sandra keeps us connected with her irrepressible hope. Review

Living is a tastefully poignant story of deep human emotion wrapped up in a retro British wall covering. It’s sad, but in its awakening consciousness, it reminds us all that it’s never too late to embrace life. Review

At the core, the way both portions of humor and plot spins are infused sets this work apart from those master filmmakers. Review

The Son sticks to an appalling linearity, poor staging and a heavy-handed sentimentality that provokes more indifference than pity. Review

Even not as touching as it could be, this exquisitely acted film provides a guilty pleasure for those who like to dive into skepticism. Review

Poitras orchestrates a well-made, easy to digest documentary that creates a certain contrast by having everything in the right place in opposition to the protagonist’s irreverence. Goldin proves to be a true experimenter and survivor of our world. Review

Mihai grabs hold of her character and the spectators by dragging them into a vertiginous nightmare. Her narrative mechanics never weigh down the power of the story, which works as a social chronicle of a country ravaged by violence and corruption. Review

Sensorially stirring, the film succeeds mostly in the visual department by combining saturated colors, image overlapping and alluring tonalities to depict inexplicable oddities, both physical and mental. Review

It’s encouraging that these desperate women abused by vicious men had found a way but there’s still something missing in the unfolding of a story in which the dramatics feel plastically inert. Review

The problem with The Whale is that the more Aronofsky wants to make cinema, the more it gets histrionic. In its desire to bring out emotions, the film skips over the more complex fallout of personal abandonment, in its physically and psychologically undertows. Review

Creative and unique in its conception, the film presents a dark side that haunts, scares and lingers. Review

Its machinations, despite passing a sense of fun, are based on copy-paste rudiments that wear out our patience. Review

There are a few lovely things in this film that make it easier for us to forgive its shortcomings. But so you know, Empire of Light is no magic movie. Review

M3gan remains soft at the core, contaminated by harmful robotization while following the codes of Hollywood’s easy scares. It feels like a Beta version of something that could be much bigger. Review

The Brazilian gangsta-rap and cheesy popular songs we hear also become vital for the mood the directors want to convey. This persuasive piece of filmmaking fuses crime and drama, showing not only the cost of lawlessness but also the power of these women. Review

This manipulative thriller only confirms that Shyamalan needs better ideas and smarter twists to overcome a creative crisis that has pestering him for decades. An artless film without the guts to bring the apocalyptic threat to life onscreen. Review

Even when the clouds are darker and things go wrong, the film never falls into extreme pathos and the four members of the family find the strength to fix things properly with the support of one another. On that premise, in a tender and obvious way, Martins delivers a valid message about family ties, acceptance, and hope in better days. Review

In the contemporary Pacifiction, his minimalist stance is as powerfully suggestive as the atmospherics that, lean or lush, permeate the film and can numb you into an abstruse, dark dream. This is a different kind of thriller that, capturing the sad constancy of political restlessness in a particular circuited context, feels like a delirious mania, sometimes annoying in its compulsory idée fixe. Review

That’s the problem with Causeway; it advances casually and lightly for the sake of entertainment, and you kind of know what is coming at every single turn. Review