This week's new films

The Woman In The Fifth (15) (Pawel Pawlikowski, 2011, Fra/Pol/UK) Ethan Hawke, Kristin Scott Thomas, Joanna Kulig. 84 mins. Mysteries abound in this sombre, 1970s-style drama, and so do women. Hawke's emotionally wracked American in Paris is plagued by them – not just the seductress of the title (Scott Thomas) but also his estranged wife and daughter, and the pretty Polish waitress. Plus some dodgy (male) gangster types. If it all seems too good to be true, it is, but this doesn't show its hand till very late on – maybe too late – and maybe too many cards, or too few. Hadewijch (12A) (Bruno Dumont, 2009, Fra) Julie Sokolowski, Yassine Salime, Karl Sarafidis. 105 mins. Boldly drawing connections between (Christian) religious devotion and (Muslim) religious extremism, this radical but naturalistic drama follows a rejected nun whose search for spiritual solace takes her far out of her central Paris comfort zone, and deep into the paradoxes of faith. It's a deadly serious piece of work. Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close (12A) (Stephen Daldry, 2011, US) Thomas Horn, Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock. 129 mins. Another extremely important and incredibly weighty theme tackled by Daldry, as a hyper-smart kid and amateur inventor seeks answers after his father is killed in the 9/11 attacks, and digs up all manner of weepy human trauma. It's the kind of manipulative melodrama the Academy falls for, but not us. Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance (12A) (Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor, 2011, US/UAE) Nicolas Cage, Ciarán Hinds, Violante Placido. 95 mins. Nonsensical mayhem at the trashier end of comic-book movies, with an up-for-it Cage and unlimited flame-throwing/motorcycle-crashing/gun-waving action sequences to recommend, if you want guilty pleasures. Position Among The Stars (NC) (Leonard Retel Helmrich, 2010, Neth/Ind) 109 mins. The final part of Helmrich's acclaimed documentary trilogy, which is as much a fascinating family saga as a study of modern Indonesia. Moments of comedy and fluid camerawork make this less of a chore than it sounds, even if they raise questions over authenticity. ID:A (15) (Christian E Christiansen, 2011, Den) Tuva Novotny, Flemming Enevold, Carsten Bjornlund. 104 mins. Danish thriller that begins with a woman waking up in a river with a bagful of cash, people after her, and no idea who she is, and works through generic conspiracy action twists from there. It won't make a Killing. The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls (NC) (Leanne Pooley, 2009, NZ) 84 mins. Cheery doc on New Zealand's lesbian country-singing comedy siblings, whose gently eccentric entertainment has done its bit for diversity causes. Ekk Deewana Tha (15) (Gautham Menon, 2012, Ind) Prateik, Amy Jackson, Babu Antony. 142 mins. Music by AR Rahman and the debut of former Miss Liverpool Jackson add interest to a standard boy-meets-Christian-girl story. Out from Friday Corman's World: Exploits Of A Hollywood Rebel Jack Nicholson, Martin Scorsese and others on low-budget film legend Roger Corman. Out from Tue Black Gold Antonio Banderas and Mark Strong lead an epic Arab oil saga. Safe House Denzel on the run. Rampart Woody Harrelson as a corrupt LA cop clinging to the old ways. The Adopted Mélanie Laurent directs and stars in an emotional French drama. Blood Car A vegan discovers a grisly alternative fuel source in this lo-fi near-future horror. Deviation Psycho killer Danny Dyer ignores the highway code. Coming soon In two weeks … Spies fight over Reese Witherspoon in This Means War … Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd explore alternative lifestyles in Wanderlust … In three weeks … Pixar's Martian epic John Carter … Robert Pattinson sleeps his way through Paris in Bel Ami … In a month … Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson and animals in We Bought A Zoo …