October

Lima pawnbroker Clemente allows himself few if any emotional ties; business is business, and even his sex life is restricted to visiting hookers. Then he returns home one night to find an abandoned baby in a shopping basket, and his life, despite his best efforts, looks set to change – though probably not in the way Sofia, the kindly and religious customer whose help he eventually enlists as babysitter, would like. A laconic script, measured pacing and an engagingly deadpan sense of humour combine with solid performances to make this a very watchable movie; happily, the fact that it’s set during the month devoted to the religious celebration of miracles isn’t harped on, and any allegorical impulses are kept admirably under control.