Why you can trust GamesRadar+ Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.
The story of two teenage girls living in Mexico City, Perfume De Violeta takes a look at the lives of rebellious Yessica (Ximena Ayala), who endures an impoverished home life, and Miriam (Nancy Gutiérrez), who lives with her over-protective single mother in an affluent neighbourhood. The girls are close, but Yessica is unable to confide to Miriam that she's being regularly raped by her half-brother...
Further proof of the current resurgence of Latin American cinema (Amores Perros, Y Tu Mamá También, the five-star City Of God), this Mexican drama draws on a true-life story to offer a powerful critique of a brutally exploitative, macho society. Director Maryse Sistach eschews rabble-rousing melodramatics in favour of a more restrained, observational approach, filling her frames with subtle images of entrapment, and there's a brace of fine performances from the female leads.
Admittedly it's not as cinematic as the best Latino movies - - the scale seems more suited to TV - - but there's an intimacy here that makes up for any lack of scope.
