Cláudio Alves
@claudioalvesdc.bsky.social
Portuguese film critic & costume designer. Find my writing at The Film Experience, Photogénie, and Magazine HD. Voting member of GALECA and the International Cinephile Society.
Gay, He/Him
linktr.ee/claudioalvesdc
Gay, He/Him
linktr.ee/claudioalvesdc
WICKED: FOR GOOD can only rely on its leading ladies up to a point. While Erivo and Grande soar as mightily as in last year's first act, the conclusion to this tale is a descent into the abyss, defying gravity no more.
My review, for The Film Experience:
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/11...
My review, for The Film Experience:
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/11...
Review: Erivo and Grande can’t save "Wicked: For Good" - Blog - The Film Experience
by Cláudio Alves
Months before it arrived on Broadway, when it first opened for p...
thefilmexperience.net
November 20, 2025 at 9:59 PM
WICKED: FOR GOOD can only rely on its leading ladies up to a point. While Erivo and Grande soar as mightily as in last year's first act, the conclusion to this tale is a descent into the abyss, defying gravity no more.
My review, for The Film Experience:
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/11...
My review, for The Film Experience:
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/11...
I'm overjoyed that the Gotham Awards recognized Tessa Thompson's tremendous work as the titular diva in HEDDA. I waxed rhapsodic about her in my review of Nia DaCosta's Ibsen reinvention, posted earlier today at The Film Experience. Give it a read!
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/10...
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/10...
Review: Nia DaCosta reinvents Ibsen with "Hedda" - Blog - The Film Experience
by Cláudio Alves
You might be excused for believing Nia DaCosta has decided to re...
thefilmexperience.net
October 28, 2025 at 4:58 PM
I'm overjoyed that the Gotham Awards recognized Tessa Thompson's tremendous work as the titular diva in HEDDA. I waxed rhapsodic about her in my review of Nia DaCosta's Ibsen reinvention, posted earlier today at The Film Experience. Give it a read!
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/10...
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/10...
Unsurprisingly, THE MASTERMIND was right up my alley. Kelly Reichardt's ironic take on the heist movie is a deadpan hilarious comedy of failure led by a perfectly pathetic Josh O'Connor. Come read my review at The Film Experience.
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/10...
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/10...
Review: Reichardt takes on the heist movie in "The Mastermind" - Blog - The Film Experience
by Cláudio Alves
Many of contemporary cinema's most celebrated auteurs have recen...
thefilmexperience.net
October 18, 2025 at 2:02 AM
Unsurprisingly, THE MASTERMIND was right up my alley. Kelly Reichardt's ironic take on the heist movie is a deadpan hilarious comedy of failure led by a perfectly pathetic Josh O'Connor. Come read my review at The Film Experience.
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/10...
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/10...
Pedro Pinho's I ONLY REST IN THE STORM demands the decolonization of our imaginations! Blessed with a magnetic turn by Cleo Diára and great film photography by Ivo Lopes Araújo, it's a rich text, funny as fuck and just as queer.
My #NYFF review:
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/10...
My #NYFF review:
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/10...
NYFF 63: Pedro Pinho's "I Only Rest In the Storm" is a Portuguese must-watch - Blog - The Film Experience
by Cláudio Alves
Today, in Portugal, the country celebrated 115 years since the m...
thefilmexperience.net
October 6, 2025 at 2:32 AM
Pedro Pinho's I ONLY REST IN THE STORM demands the decolonization of our imaginations! Blessed with a magnetic turn by Cleo Diára and great film photography by Ivo Lopes Araújo, it's a rich text, funny as fuck and just as queer.
My #NYFF review:
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/10...
My #NYFF review:
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/10...
IF I HAD LEGS I'D KICK YOU gives a whole new meaning to "send hole pics." Rose Byrne is tremendous as a woman under the influence and on the verge of a nervous breakdown, holding together the tragicomic meditation on motherhood as if her life depended on it.
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/10...
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/10...
NYFF 63: Rose Byrne sinks her teeth into Mary Bronstein's "If I Had Legs I'd Kick You" - Blog - The Film Experience
by Cláudio Alves
No mother is ever good enough. Not according to her children, no...
thefilmexperience.net
October 5, 2025 at 12:42 AM
IF I HAD LEGS I'D KICK YOU gives a whole new meaning to "send hole pics." Rose Byrne is tremendous as a woman under the influence and on the verge of a nervous breakdown, holding together the tragicomic meditation on motherhood as if her life depended on it.
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/10...
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/10...
Lucile Hadžihalilovic's THE ICE TOWER, now in theaters, is both a retelling of the Snow Queen fairytale and its echo as a backstage melodrama with a Freudian twist. Marion Cotillard is entrancing while Clara Pacini recalls a young Sandrine Bonnaire. My review:
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/10...
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/10...
Review: A mesmerizing Marion Cotillard reigns over Lucile Hadžihalilovic's "The Ice Tower" - Blog - The Film Experience
by Cláudio Alves
The Ice Tower starts in the fashion of a trance-like fairytale, ...
thefilmexperience.net
October 3, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Lucile Hadžihalilovic's THE ICE TOWER, now in theaters, is both a retelling of the Snow Queen fairytale and its echo as a backstage melodrama with a Freudian twist. Marion Cotillard is entrancing while Clara Pacini recalls a young Sandrine Bonnaire. My review:
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/10...
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/10...
Koberidze's DRY LEAF was shot on a 2008 Sony Ericsson, with a resolution of 240p. It's also the most beautiful film of the cinematic year. Come read this review at The Film Experience, part of my #NYFF coverage.
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/10...
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/10...
NYFF 63: "Dry Leaf" is the dawn of the low-res epic poem - Blog - The Film Experience
by Cláudio Alves
Alexandre Koberidze shot the most beautiful film of the year on ...
thefilmexperience.net
October 3, 2025 at 3:22 AM
Koberidze's DRY LEAF was shot on a 2008 Sony Ericsson, with a resolution of 240p. It's also the most beautiful film of the cinematic year. Come read this review at The Film Experience, part of my #NYFF coverage.
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/10...
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/10...
PETER HUJAR'S DAY looks like a very straightforward project at first glance. And yet, I found some fascinating tensions within Ira Sachs' latest, especially regarding portraiture as an artistic practice.
Find my #NYFF review at The Film Experience:
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
Find my #NYFF review at The Film Experience:
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
NYFF 63: "Peter Hujar's Day" ponders portraiture - Blog - The Film Experience
by Cláudio Alves
The subject of many recent retrospectives, republishing projects...
thefilmexperience.net
September 29, 2025 at 12:11 AM
PETER HUJAR'S DAY looks like a very straightforward project at first glance. And yet, I found some fascinating tensions within Ira Sachs' latest, especially regarding portraiture as an artistic practice.
Find my #NYFF review at The Film Experience:
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
Find my #NYFF review at The Film Experience:
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
The Jennifer Lawrence stans must calm down because Nadia Melliti makes for an amazing Cannes Best Actress winner. I was lucky enough to watch Hafsia Herzi's THE LITTLE SISTER as part of my #TIFF50 experience.
Come read my thoughts at The Film Experience:
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
Come read my thoughts at The Film Experience:
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
TIFF 50: A star is born in "The Little Sister" - Blog - The Film Experience
by Cláudio Alves
Like The Sun Rises on Us All in Venice, The Little Sister suffer...
thefilmexperience.net
September 26, 2025 at 12:09 AM
The Jennifer Lawrence stans must calm down because Nadia Melliti makes for an amazing Cannes Best Actress winner. I was lucky enough to watch Hafsia Herzi's THE LITTLE SISTER as part of my #TIFF50 experience.
Come read my thoughts at The Film Experience:
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
Come read my thoughts at The Film Experience:
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
The troubled legacy of Spanish colonialism in North Africa echoes through three #TIFF50 titles. There is Eimi Imanishi's NOMAD SHADOW, Oliver Laxe's SIRÂT, and Maryam Touzani's CALLE MÁLAGA with a luminous Carmen Maura.
Read my reviews at The Film Experience:
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
Read my reviews at The Film Experience:
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
TIFF 50: Between Spain and the Sahara in "Nomad Shadow," "Sirât" and "Calle Málaga" - Blog - The Film Experience
by Cláudio Alves
Histories of colonialism were omnipresent at TIFF, even in films...
thefilmexperience.net
September 24, 2025 at 11:50 PM
The troubled legacy of Spanish colonialism in North Africa echoes through three #TIFF50 titles. There is Eimi Imanishi's NOMAD SHADOW, Oliver Laxe's SIRÂT, and Maryam Touzani's CALLE MÁLAGA with a luminous Carmen Maura.
Read my reviews at The Film Experience:
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
Read my reviews at The Film Experience:
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
Lucía Aleñar Iglesias's FORASTERA is an impressive feature debut that earned its director the FIPRESCI prize at this year's TIFF. It tells the story of a summertime haunting, as a grief-stricken girl starts to assume her dead grandmother's identity.
My review:
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
My review:
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
TIFF 50: Lucía Aleñar Iglesias wins the FIPRESCI Prize for "Forastera" - Blog - The Film Experience
by Cláudio Alves
Light has character. In Lucía Aleñar Igles...
thefilmexperience.net
September 24, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Lucía Aleñar Iglesias's FORASTERA is an impressive feature debut that earned its director the FIPRESCI prize at this year's TIFF. It tells the story of a summertime haunting, as a grief-stricken girl starts to assume her dead grandmother's identity.
My review:
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
My review:
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
A POET and KOKUHO both played at #TIFF50 and will represent their countries, Colombia and Japan, at the 98th Academy Awards. For The Film Experience, I reviewed these stories of artists grasping at greatness, jeopardising their dignity and sense of self.
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
TIFF 50: Colombia's "A Poet" and Japan's "Kokuho" - Blog - The Film Experience
by Cláudio Alves
It's easy to understand why artists would be drawn to stories ab...
thefilmexperience.net
September 24, 2025 at 1:37 PM
A POET and KOKUHO both played at #TIFF50 and will represent their countries, Colombia and Japan, at the 98th Academy Awards. For The Film Experience, I reviewed these stories of artists grasping at greatness, jeopardising their dignity and sense of self.
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
It's been two weeks since I saw it at #TIFF50, but I can't stop thinking about THE TESTAMENT OF ANN LEE. Blessed with a fervent Amanda Seyfried performance and Daniel Blumberg's awe-inspiring song score, Mona Fastvold's experiment is a musical like none other.
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
TIFF 50: Musical mayhem in "The Testament of Ann Lee" - Blog - The Film Experience
by Cláudio Alves
Why do we make musicals? What compels us to sing and dance our e...
thefilmexperience.net
September 22, 2025 at 2:47 AM
It's been two weeks since I saw it at #TIFF50, but I can't stop thinking about THE TESTAMENT OF ANN LEE. Blessed with a fervent Amanda Seyfried performance and Daniel Blumberg's awe-inspiring song score, Mona Fastvold's experiment is a musical like none other.
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
Angeline Jolie is superb in Alice Winocour's latest. COUTURE is a mural-like look at the Paris Fashion Week that has plenty to say about bodies and their intrinsic fragility. I reviewed it, along with plenty of other #TIFF50 titles, at The Film Experience:
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
TIFF 50: “Couture” reflects on fashion, bodies and mortality - Blog - The Film Experience
by Cláudio Alves
In Alice Winocour's Couture , Angeline Jolie enters the film in ...
thefilmexperience.net
September 21, 2025 at 2:04 AM
Angeline Jolie is superb in Alice Winocour's latest. COUTURE is a mural-like look at the Paris Fashion Week that has plenty to say about bodies and their intrinsic fragility. I reviewed it, along with plenty of other #TIFF50 titles, at The Film Experience:
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
Fresh off its #TIFF50 world premiere, Tim Mielant's STEVE is already in theaters. Yeon Sang-ho's THE UGLY isn't too far behind, opening next week for a limited release. I reviewed both titles at The Film Experience.
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
TIFF 50: "Steve" and "The Ugly" waste no time - Blog - The Film Experience
by Cláudio Alves
Following festival coverages can be a frustrating business for t...
thefilmexperience.net
September 19, 2025 at 11:50 PM
Fresh off its #TIFF50 world premiere, Tim Mielant's STEVE is already in theaters. Yeon Sang-ho's THE UGLY isn't too far behind, opening next week for a limited release. I reviewed both titles at The Film Experience.
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
Bursting with outrage at what British imperialism inflicted on the Māori people, MARAMA is an anticolonial spin on a classic Gothic tale. Taratoa Stappard's feature debut had its world premiere at #TIFF50, and here's my review for The Film Experience:
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
TIFF 50: "Mārama" serves Gothic horror with an anticolonial twist - Blog - The Film Experience
by Cláudio Alves
Before even its company credits unfold on screen, Mārama hi...
thefilmexperience.net
September 18, 2025 at 11:12 PM
Bursting with outrage at what British imperialism inflicted on the Māori people, MARAMA is an anticolonial spin on a classic Gothic tale. Taratoa Stappard's feature debut had its world premiere at #TIFF50, and here's my review for The Film Experience:
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
Guillermo del Toro's FRANKENSTEIN has amazing costumes, a brilliant Jacob Elordi performance, giddily grotesque effects, a lush score and some nice sets that survive the sabotage of Dan Laustsen's lensing. Nevertheless, it's a lifeless slog.
My #TIFF50 review:
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
My #TIFF50 review:
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
TIFF 50: "Frankenstein" has great gowns, beautiful gowns - Blog - The Film Experience
by Cláudio Alves
Last year, Emilia Pérez finished in second place for ...
thefilmexperience.net
September 18, 2025 at 2:24 AM
Guillermo del Toro's FRANKENSTEIN has amazing costumes, a brilliant Jacob Elordi performance, giddily grotesque effects, a lush score and some nice sets that survive the sabotage of Dan Laustsen's lensing. Nevertheless, it's a lifeless slog.
My #TIFF50 review:
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
My #TIFF50 review:
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
Richard Linklater delivered both one of the best and one of the very worst films at TIFF. Can you guess which enchanted me and which one induced a serious need to roll my eyes until they popped out of their sockets?
My reviews of NOUVELLE VAGUE and BLUE MOON:
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
My reviews of NOUVELLE VAGUE and BLUE MOON:
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
TIFF 50: A Linklater Double Feature - Blog - The Film Experience
by Cláudio Alves Nowadays, if you're not named Hong Sang-soo, it's rare for a dir...
thefilmexperience.net
September 17, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Richard Linklater delivered both one of the best and one of the very worst films at TIFF. Can you guess which enchanted me and which one induced a serious need to roll my eyes until they popped out of their sockets?
My reviews of NOUVELLE VAGUE and BLUE MOON:
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
My reviews of NOUVELLE VAGUE and BLUE MOON:
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
Tamara Kotevska, best known for HONEYLAND, makes her solo directorial debut with THE TALE OF SILYAN. This beautiful documentary is set to represent North Macedonia at the 98th Academy Awards. Here's my review:
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
thefilmexperience.net
September 17, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Tamara Kotevska, best known for HONEYLAND, makes her solo directorial debut with THE TALE OF SILYAN. This beautiful documentary is set to represent North Macedonia at the 98th Academy Awards. Here's my review:
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
I know the internet wanted Stone or Seyfried to take home the Best Actress Volpi Cup at this year's Venice Film Festival, but Xin Zhilei makes for a worthy victor. Sadly, the rest of Cai Shangjun's THE SUN RISES ON US ALL isn't at her level.
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
TIFF 50: Xin Zhilei earns the Volpi Cup in "The Sun Rises on Us All" - Blog - The Film Experience
by Cláudio Alves
Every year, folks think they can predict the wiles and ways of f...
thefilmexperience.net
September 17, 2025 at 4:21 PM
I know the internet wanted Stone or Seyfried to take home the Best Actress Volpi Cup at this year's Venice Film Festival, but Xin Zhilei makes for a worthy victor. Sadly, the rest of Cai Shangjun's THE SUN RISES ON US ALL isn't at her level.
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
HAMNET made me cry like few films have, but that doesn't mean it's a flawless masterpiece. I tried to reckon with my feelings in this review, ruminating on Chloé Zhao's best work to date, a troublesome last act, a miraculous Buckley and even better Watson.
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
TIFF 50: "Hamnet" is Chloé Zhao's best film to date - Blog - The Film Experience
by Cláudio Alves
Another year, another TIFF coverage extended far past the festiv...
thefilmexperience.net
September 17, 2025 at 4:19 PM
HAMNET made me cry like few films have, but that doesn't mean it's a flawless masterpiece. I tried to reckon with my feelings in this review, ruminating on Chloé Zhao's best work to date, a troublesome last act, a miraculous Buckley and even better Watson.
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/9/...
I'm back at TIFF, for the third year in a row, covering the festival for The Film Experience.
September 3, 2025 at 10:56 PM
I'm back at TIFF, for the third year in a row, covering the festival for The Film Experience.
I wrote about Shô Miyake's TWO SEASONS, TWO STRANGERS for The Film Experience. This year's Locarno Golden Lion winner is a moving, occasionally humorous, always graceful musing on those lonely souls who experience present life in the past tense.
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/8/...
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/8/...
Review: "Two Seasons, Two Strangers" wins Locarno - Blog - The Film Experience
by Cláudio Alves
Berlin, Cannes, and Venice are considered the major European fil...
thefilmexperience.net
August 23, 2025 at 1:29 AM
I wrote about Shô Miyake's TWO SEASONS, TWO STRANGERS for The Film Experience. This year's Locarno Golden Lion winner is a moving, occasionally humorous, always graceful musing on those lonely souls who experience present life in the past tense.
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/8/...
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/8/...
Obsessing over Amy Madigan in WEAPONS? Then come read my thoughts on her oft-forgotten Oscar-nominated work in TWICE IN A LIFETIME. At The Film Experience, I also reviewed Brenda Vaccaro and James Woods' nominations for two of the worst movies in Oscar history.
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/8/...
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/8/...
Amy Madigan and Oscar Horrors Past - Blog - The Film Experience
by Cláudio Alves
Weapons is the talk of the town and people can't stop obsessing ...
thefilmexperience.net
August 17, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Obsessing over Amy Madigan in WEAPONS? Then come read my thoughts on her oft-forgotten Oscar-nominated work in TWICE IN A LIFETIME. At The Film Experience, I also reviewed Brenda Vaccaro and James Woods' nominations for two of the worst movies in Oscar history.
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/8/...
thefilmexperience.net/blog/2025/8/...