Filmrecensies van Victor Fraga

Crime thriller about call-centre-worker-turned-drug-dealer inserts some grit into the squeaky clean capital of Saudi Arabia. Recensie

Brutally honest Korean drama mercilessly deromanticises and demystifies the experience of pregnancy and motherhood. Recensie

Saintagnan was just too ambitious, setting out to create elaborate settings on a shoestring, instead of using her financial handicap as a catalyst for radical experimentation. Recensie

Isabelle Huppert challenges and looks audiences right in the eye for nearly an hour and a half, in this epistemological and reflexive study of cinema. Recensie

Suicidal control freak ex-boyfriend manipulates Italian woman over the telephone, in this clunky suspense thriller from Italy. Recensie

Moody, inscrutable road movie provides a fascinating peak into the ice-cold and barren landscape of Northern Russia, by the Barents Sea. Recensie

Slow and exquisite drama elegantly portrays the fleeting connection between two very different strangers in Brussels. Recensie

First-time French director crafts a nail-biting, suspenseful tale of unrequited love, stolen motherhood and female invidiousness. Recensie

This sense of hopelessness is supported by Barbu Balasoiu’s realistic and gloomy cinematography, with few close-ups and sparse lighting, and a minimalistic music score. Recensie

The spicy dialogues will keep you hooked, even if the uneven script makes the story a little difficult to follow... Recensie

The outcome is a film that’s breezy and pleasant to watch, however mostly unmemorable. Recensie

Matteo Garrone’s 121-minute film is a refugee drama of epic proportions. Recensie

Think of Orson Welles’s unfinished It’s All True, infuse it with unabashed mysticism, and you are halfway there. Recensie

Teen embarks on a journey along the American Northeast, in this highly experimental, trippy and barely coherent movie about US stereotypes. Recensie

Goodbye Julia is a 120-minute enrapturing drama thanks to its effective script blending elements of psychological thriller, melodrama and music. Recensie

Violence is not fetishised, and Heroic is not a sadistic, voyeuristic endeavour. This is unlike other Mexican films, such as Michel Franco’s celebrated New Order (2020), which uses graphic violence and blood as a narrative device. A powerful ending proposes a new, shocking solution. Recensie

Snakes, spells, growing rocks and a flying corpse come together in this esoteric blend of fantasy drama and visual arts experiment from Lithuania. Recensie

Belgian-Moroccan Azabal delivers a heart-ripping performance as a strong and determined woman slowly collapsing under the unbearable weight of bigotry. Recensie

Idan Hubel’s sophomore feature is a very simple and straightforward drama at just 80 minutes. And it has remarkably little to say. Recensie

Lesbian couple contends with dark forces in order to forge a living in the remote Mongolian steppe - poignant queer survival drama. Recensie

Loose biopic of Spanish saint Teresa of Avila is dogged by a contrived script and cliches, and misses the opportunity to provide real insight into the life of a subversive reformer. Recensie

A bulimic university student gets admitted to a creepy dietary institution, where her life descends into unfathomable horror - completely bonkers Japanese film. Recensie

A peace-loving "madman" communicates with the dead in a mortuary, in this exuberant Indian drama with a touch of Weerasetakul's magical realism. Recensie

Belgian fantasy drama about a literal magnetic man is doused in charm and nostalgia, while also paying an ode to the wacky performance acts of yore. Recensie