Freaks

O tratamento mais original dos motivos blockbuster de Hollywood num pequeno filme indie que mantém simultaneamente a sua distância dos mesmos e olha para eles de cima com o seu engenho. A surpresa do ano. Concebido para primeiro provocar questões e mentir artisticamente com o corpo, depois surpreender revelando o mundo cinematográfico original, e depois envolver emocionalmente e brincar com o espetador da forma mais justa possível — sem uma única cena apenas para efeito — para transmitir uma experiência bombástica com uma série de ideias inovadoras. Excelente atuação da pequena Lexy Kolker. Não vejam os trailers, não leiam as sinopses de enredo! [Sitges FF] (09/10/2018)

Just in case anyone is reading this comment as the first, I’d like to repeat the advice of previous commenters: if you don’t know anything about this film, avoid finding anything about it and, for God’s sake, do not watch the trailer. At least the entire first half greatly capitalises from throwing the viewer into the whirlpool of a weird story where they can’t figure anything out – who, what, why, how? At the beginning, the only thing we know is that a little girl called Chloe lives together with her strangely behaving father (?) in a kind of dilapidated building, and that she’s forbidden to go outside. And this dark paranoia, which is soon complicated by a series of other mysterious motifs, is only very slowly given some order. What is not slow at all, though, is the pace at which the plot moves forward. There’s always something happening; twists alternate twists, ideas alternate ideas. Although in the end the main motif turns out to be ordinary and trite, the way it’s presented, from its point of view and with such balls, is something that we’ve probably never seen before. There are times when you can see that a million or two more in the budget wouldn’t have hurt, but overall it’s a lot of fun. (29/11/2019)

At least once a year, there is a film that no one expects much from, but in the end it is a pleasant surprise and Freaks delivers a lot of value for money. A beautifully crafted mystery film that is strange, unsettling, and secretive from the start, but also suspenseful and entertaining. The film raises some interesting questions and gradually answers them with unexpected and imaginative twists as it progresses. The performance by the young Lexy Kolker is perhaps the best by a child actor since Jacob Tremblay in Room, and the finale is unexpectedly quite action-packed and bloody. If the film had, say, a $20 million higher bigger budget, we'd all be sitting in the cinema right now applauding, but maybe we'll see that in a possible sequel! The less you know, the better for you. Best mystery flick of the year. 8.5/10. (01/12/2019)

Freaks slightly fools the viewer – in the first half, it lets them wonder what exactly is happening in the film, overwhelming them with a bunch of confusing motifs and weird characters (basically every single character feels disturbing and puzzling). In the second half, however, the film introduces a surprising outcome that gives the previous plot meaning and plays nicely with the viewer’s emotions. Bruce Dern as a cynical crude-ish ice-cream man is incredibly cool and his interaction with Emil Hirsch fills the film with witty lines and lots of fun, especially towards the end. And I believe we will be hearing a lot more about little Lexy Kolker. [Sitges 2018] (08/10/2018)

Ao longo da primeira metade, o filme, ambientado num mundo cujas leis se mantém escondidas do público com surpreendente persistência até, pelo menos, à metade da duração, faz um uso minimalista dos personagens de um pai e de uma filha escondidos do mundo exterior numa casa abrigada, em torno dos quais cria uma atmosfera de incerteza e um medo talvez justificado, mas também talvez apenas paranoico de um inimigo desconhecido. Depois, na segunda parte, mostra a verdade completamente, com uma série de motivos até agora vagos, obscuros e ilusórios, ao quais é dado finalmente significado e contexto, aos personagens são atribuídos objetivos específicos, e finalmente há mais algumas cenas de ação, mas estas servem a história e nunca são usadas para efeito. Elementos familiares dos filmes americanos de grande dimensão com orçamentos de cem milhões de dólares são aqui utilizados de forma imaginativa e original em benefício de uma história extraordinariamente contada e inteligentemente construída que poderia ter várias sequelas ou uma série de televisão, e que é liderada por uma soberba atuação da talentosa Lexy Kolker de nove anos. (15/10/2018)

I’ve often mentioned in my reviews that I’m not particularly fond of children in film, but I was simply floored by the performance of the nine-year-old Lexa Kolker. Many a seasoned actor could learn a few things from her (though I’m not sure if it would be of any help to Ben Affleck or Jennifer Lawrence). I found the film entertaining from start to finish. While X-Men seem to be getting old, the sight of mutants here was captivating. (11/01/2020)

At the beginning it looked very promising, but I got pretty bored about halfway through. However, if there weren't so many unnecessary action scenes and cheap tricks in the last half hour, I would give one more star, because the movie has quite a suspenseful atmosphere. (45%) (30/12/2022)