Cadejo Blanco (15)
Directed by Justin Lerner
★★★★ 

 
THIS quietly powerful and uber-tense thriller provides a fascinating insight into the workings of gangs in Guatemala. 

Written and directed by Justin Lerner, and his first film in Spanish, it follows Sarita (Karen Martinez, Our Mothers) a teenage working-class girl from Guatemala City who travels to Puerto Barrios in search of her missing sister Bea (Pamela Martinez).

There she befriends her sibling’s dangerous ex, Andres (impressive newcomer Rudy Rodriguez) and infiltrates his gang to discover what happened to Bea. 

Three years in the making, it features a mainly non-professional cast who deliver impressive performances. This slow-burning drama is driven though by Martinez’s haunting and captivating portrayal as Sarita. 

The “Cadejo Blanco” itself is a mythical dog or supernatural spirit that acts as a guardian angel for people, although here that concept is also a metaphor for the dangerous journey Sarita has embarked on. 

And you can cut the tension with a knife as she faces peril at every turn and is forced to do horrendous things to maintain her cover. Lerner keeps you on tenterhooks, not knowing if and when she will be uncovered and Andres and his colleagues will turn on her. 

Andres informs her that life is cheap in Barrios and when kids turn up dead nobody cares, not even the police. She soon learns that being a gang member is for life and the only way out is feet first. 

It ends on a heartstopping emotional note as reality hits her. This isn’t an easy watch. 

In select cinemas and on demand from August 23.

Widow Clicquot (15)
Directed by Thomas Napper
★★★ 

 
THIS tells the remarkable story of Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin who took on the French patriarchy and, against all the odds, smashed it to become one of the trailblazing female entrepreneurs of her time by revolutionizing the champagne industry. 

Based on Tilar Mazzeo’s book, it is directed by Thomas Napper and it is gorgeously shot. You feel that you are watching a series of stunning artistic tableaux. Haley Bennet gives a sparkly performance as the visionary young widow, crippled by grief after losing the love of her life Francois (Tom Sturridge), but determined to continue her husband’s legacy. Defying her critics she turned Veuve Clicquot into a champagne empire. 

But it was an uphill struggle. 

Through flashbacks you slowly learn the reality of their marriage and what a manic and troubled soul Francois was. Following his untimely death she discovers their fledgeling wine company was drowning in debt and the male vultures were circling.  

The sexism and patronising criticisms she faced, though not unexpected, are nevertheless still extraordinary to see. Yet her fortitude and relentlessness to keep going and to navigate the political and financial challenges is admirable. 

While visually impressive it lacks the necessary fizz and spark, keeping the viewer at arm’s length.  

In cinemas August 23.

Blink Twice (15)
Directed by Zoe Kravitz
★★★ 

 
ACTOR turned director Zoe Kravitz’s debut film is a deliciously dark and twisted thriller about the privilege and power of wealth, the abuse of power and taking it back. 

Co-written by Kravitz, who proves a remarkably skilled first-time director, the film features a powerhouse performance by Naomie Ackie as the complicated Frida, a waitress, who charms tech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum as you have never seen him before). He invites her and her best friend Jess (Alia Shawkat) to join him and his friends on his island. 

There they are provided with gorgeous white attire and swimwear and are seduced by the lavish surroundings, excellent cuisine and neverending flow of champagne. Of course all is not what it seems. They start losing track of time and their memories. 

Slick and stylish and with sumptuous visuals, this is a drama which unpacks a lot once the blinders are finally off. Exceedingly disturbing it poses more questions than it answers.

In cinemas August 23. 

 
Cuckoo (15)
Directed by Tilman Singer
★★★ 

 
A 17-year-old girl is forced to move with her father and his family to a German holiday resort where things are not what they seem in this deranged but hugely entertaining horror. 

Writer-director Tilman Singer delivers a bizarre film which makes little sense but is full of inventive flair which keeps you invested. Hunter Schafer (Euphoria) is pitch perfect as the troubled and rebellious teen Gretchen while Dan Stevens hams it up beautifully as the dodgy resort owner, going full weirdo German. 

The look and feel of it is terribly 1970s, although Gretchen has a mobile phone at the start of her trip.  

The less you know before you see this movie, the better. It is madcap horror which lives up to its name. Completely cuckoo.  

In cinemas August 23.