Cadejo Blanco
A woman from Guatemala City goes in search of her sister in Justin Lerner’s far-fetched psycho-thriller.
Image courtesy of Bulldog Film Distribution
Guatemala is not a country that often features in films that we get to see but that is the setting of Cadejo Blanco starting out in Guatemala City and then moving to the coastal setting of Puerto Barrios. It is the novelty of the location that makes this film memorable and one might have expected it to be the work of somebody born there. Instead, the man behind Cadejo Blanco is an American, Justin Lerner, whose previous feature films were shot in English. In contrast to that this thriller which he wrote and directed is performed in Spanish, stars the Colombian actress Karen Martínez and the Guatemalan actor Brandon López with a supporting cast of non-professionals found locally.
In the film’s opening scene two sisters, Sarita and Bea, are preparing to go out on the town together. It is Bea (Pamela Martínez) who is pressing her sister to accompany her since for reassurance she wants her to be at hand when she has things out with Andrés (Rudy Rodriguez). He is Bea’s boyfriend but she has kept the relationship secret until now and confesses to Sarita that the young man who is in town at weekends working as a bartender actually lives elsewhere where he is known to be a gang member. Although an argument makes it look as though the couple are definitely breaking up (which Sarita regards as no bad thing), Bea lingers on in the bar and Sarita goes back home without her. But next day it is apparent that Bea has not returned and, while her absence is reported to the police, it does not appear that any investigation will follow.
From this point on Cadejo Blanco becomes the story of how Sarita, who is now emphatically screen centre and is of course played by our star Karen Martínez, boldly acts alone in an attempt to discover what has happened to her sister. In pursuit of Andrés, who in her eyes must know something, she tracks him down in Puerto Barrios where he and another young man, Damien (that’s the role taken by Brandon López), are indeed working together as members of a gang. Without revealing that she has any connection with the missing and possibly dead Bea, she presents herself to Andrés as being so desperate that she wants to belong to the gang of which he is part.
Shot in wide screen by Roman Kasseroller Cadejo Blanco is not short on local atmosphere and it has the advantage of a strong central presence in Karen Martínez. Furthermore, despite the inexperience of most of them the other players act out their roles competently and one wouldn't call this a badly made film. But at the same time one is being asked to believe in a story that grows ever more unconvincing. The chances of a young woman like Sarita being able to pass herself off as somebody who might be accepted as a member of a gang is unlikely in itself - and even more so when she is then required to act out the role of a prostitute in order to trap a man that the gang is targeting (Juan Pablo Olyslager). And that is not all that we are asked to believe. In order to stay on and still hoping to find evidence of Bea’s fate, Sarita has to take on more work for the gang. This time it is as an assassin even though she has to be prepared for this job by being taught how to fire a gun!
Sometimes thrillers are able to create such a tense atmosphere that they persuade one to overlook any plot improbabilities. Here, however, trusting in the story being far more persuasive than it is, Lerner makes two unhelpful decisions. The first is to tell the tale at a decidedly moderate pace and over 126 minutes which only serves to give one more time to recognise its increasing unlikelihood. The second is to add an arty touch by incorporating on occasion shots of dogs. The film’s title seems to give weight to this and I have learnt (the film does not spell it out) that there is a Guatemalan legend involving two cadejo dogs which invites us to believe that a black one encourages bad decisions and leads people to their deaths while a white one watches over fools and drunkards and those who want justified revenge. Dogs of both shades appear briefly inviting us to link this symbolism to the story and perhaps to decide if Sarita's role reflects something of each. But when belief has gone out of the window any attempt at deeper significance becomes pointless.
Despite its weaknesses Cadejo Blanco is not unwatchable and, while it is comparatively rare, this is a film that gets better in its later stages. The final section contains a set piece – a plan to murder another gang boss who is a barber (Heriberto Ochoa) in his place of work. This scene is carried off with more panache than anything that has preceded it and, instead of the images ending as the credit titles come up, the film continues to place Karen Martínez screen centre to the very end (the actress carries this off rather well). But, if those who find it easy to suspend disbelief when viewing a thriller may well regard Cadejo Blanco as a pleasant enough way to pass the time, the rest of us will find it decidedly resistible even if we can enjoy the film’s Guatemalan setting.
MANSEL STIMPSON
Cast: Karen Martínez, Rudy Rodriguez, Pamela Martínez, Brandon López, Juan Pablo Olyslager, René Guirola Patzán, Heriberto Ochoa, Esteban Reynoso, Yolanda Coronado, Carlos Solis, Abimael Lima.
Dir Justin Lerner, Pro Mauricio Escobar, Ryan Friedkin, Jack Patrick Hurley and Justin Lerner, Screenplay Justin Lerner, Ph Roman Kasseroller, Pro Des Fernando Galvez Moscoso, Ed Cesar Diaz and Justin Lerner, Music Jonathan Szer, Costumes Isaac Castellanos.
La Danta Films/Imperative Entertainment/Cinema Caribe/The Orange Company-Bulldog Film Distribution.
126 mins. Guatemala/USA/Mexico. 2021. US Rel: 21 April 2023. UK Rel: 23 August 2024. Cert. 15.
