The Guardians review – women left behind reap a bitter harvest
In Xavier Beauvois’ fierce, compassionate drama, the first world war casts a terrible shadow over a farming community
The Heiresses review – wit and wisdom amid Paraguay’s upper crust
A woman is drawn out of her protective bubble when the money runs out in this excellent debut from Marcelo Martinessi
Under the Tree review – Icelandic over-the-hedge warfare drama
From a missing dog to an unspeakable encounter with a nail gun, neighbours rage in Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson’s skilful black comedy
Jamil Dehlavi: ‘In Pakistan, there is always something in the offing’
Over the decades, the film-maker has told transgressive tales of the country’s existential turmoil. Such commentary, however, has come at a price
The Heiresses review – late love and secret passion
A relationship between two wealthy women is threatened when one of them is jailed and the other begins an unexpected flirtation
The Apparition review – a heartfelt film about the divine
On behalf of the Vatican, a grizzled war journalist investigates a cult that has grown around a vision of the Blessed Virgin in rural France
Iceman review – revenge served cold’n’bloody
Felix Randau’s violent drama reconstructs the life and death of a man found preserved in ice 5,000 years later: it’s gore, grunts and goats
The Nun review – queen of the New Wave returns
Jacques Rivette’s deeply strange 1966 story – soon out on DVD and Blu-Ray – is part erotic memoir, part melodrama
Cocote review – Vudú rituals and violence in docu-realist drama
An accomplished, intense, disquieting film about dislocation and sacrifice, as a man in the Dominican Republic has to avenge his father’s death
Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings review – another case for China’s Sherlock
Tsui Hark’s third action-comedy fantasy about the Tang dynasty-era investigator has creaky effects and a lack of logic but its energy is undeniable
The Receptionist review – an intimate voyage into London’s underworld
A Taiwanese graduate becomes embroiled in the sex trade in Jenny Lu’s angst-ridden study of the immigrant experience
Extinction review – forbidding portrait of a self-proclaimed Soviet country
Are the bullies actually the good guys in this video essay about the independent state of Transnistria, in eastern Moldova?
Summer 1993 review – a moving look at loss from a child’s perspective
The debut feature from Spanish writer-director Carla Simón is a finely crafted portrait of personal upheaval
Racer and the Jailbird review – handsome crime drama hits the skids
Shady Matthias Schoenaerts falls for racing driver Adèle Exarchopoulos in a messy thriller from the director of Bullhead
Summer 1993 review – stunning drama of a childhood ripped apart
Carla Simón’s brilliantly realised story of a six-year-old traumatised by the death of her parents features miraculous child performances