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| The Wonder Photo: Courtesy of San Sebastian Film Festival |
It's telling that this historic tale from Sebastián Lelio, despite being picture perfect in its evocation of 1860s Ireland, emphasises its artifice at the start since it concerns facts and fictions and the way that faith can provide a bridge between the two. Florence Pugh plays Lib Wright, a nurse who has come to the Irish Midlands in order to offer her opinion on the health of Ana (Kíla Lord Cassidy), who has purportedly not eaten for months. Pugh's performance is the reason to watch this as she brings past tragedy fluttering to the surface of her performance. Tom Burke's magnificent mutton chops (sported in a supporting love-interest role) and Matthew Herbert's evocative score are also selling points.
One of the newer streaming services on the block - and one we've not previously included in the Stay-at-Home Seven, is ITVX. There's a subscription tier of membership but you can also watch lots of content, with adverts, for free. Among them is Aki Kaurismäki's lovingly made fable about a French shoe-shiner (André Wilms), complete with cute dog, who tries to help a young migrant (Blondin Michel) reach his mum in England. Although it was made back in 2011, its observations about migration remain as relevant today. While there's warmth and empathy there's also a question for his audience regarding why ideas of freedom and brotherhood still feel so rooted in fairy-tales rather than reality.
Memory, The Origins Of Alien, 2am, Thursday, November 24
You can't ask for a safer pair of hands to take a deep dive into the nuts and bolts of a film than Alexandre O Philippe, whose 78/52 dissected the shower scene in Psycho with a precision Alfred Hitchcock would have been proud of. He takes a broader approach to Ridley Scott's seminal science-fiction film, although he uses John Hurt's "chest burst" scene as its lynchpin. Philippe traces connections in the film all the way back to the Greek Furies and a lot more besides as he considers the influences on HR Giger in terms of design, plus offers plenty of on-set anecdotes - achieving the impressive feat of making his discoveries understandable for newcomers and detailed enough for existing fans.
Doctor Zhivago, 2pm, BBC2, Saturday, November 26
David Lean's epic love story set against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution has lost little of its appeal in the five decades or so since it was made - although Maurice Jarre's Balalaika scoring may not be for everyone. Lean thought big with this film and the likes of Lawrence Of Arabia, but he was also able to sweep audiences easily into thinking big as well, while always remembering to retain a focus on human stories. Of course, it doesn't hurt to have stars like Julie Christie and Omar Sharif generating aching longing for one another but the rest of the cast, from Tom Courtenay's zealot to Rod Steiger's manipulative cad Komarovsky, also make a lasting impression.
Get Out, Netflix
Jennie Kermode writes: Jordan Peele’s blistering directorial début, which draws on classic science fiction traditions but is absolutely up to the minute, presents the viewer with several layers of trap to try and escape from. As the opening sequence reminds us, simply being a young black man in a white supremacist society means it could be necessary to escape from a pursuer at any time, but for Chris (Daniel Kaluuya), life seems pretty sweet. He’s happy with his white girlfriend and not too worried about getting along with her parents – until, that is, a little incident with a teacup which takes him to an unexpected place. All is not what it seems and the danger here goes beyond the physical. Though he will still need to run and fight in order to follow that titular advice, there are also psychological and emotional hurdles to be overcome in a film that blends black comedy with sharp social observation.
Mogul Mowgli, 10.15pm, BBC2, Sunday, November 27
While not everything about this this fiction feature debut from Bassam Tariq works all the time, Riz Ahmed's central performance does a lot to carry an audience through. He plays rapper Zaheer - known as Zed - who finds himself hit by a potentially degenerative disease. As Zed faces physical challenges in the here and now he also imagines the experiences of his father as he fled Partition. This sense of heritage in flux and conflict between the generations is a strong selling point for the film even though a subplot concerning a potential loss of fertility feels surplus to requirements.
Kes, 10pm, Talking Pictures TV, Sunday, November 27
A heartbreaker that is accessible for multiple generations, Ken Loach's adaptation of the tale of a working class lad and his pet falcon has stood the test of time. All the hallmarks of Loach are here in his social-realist rendering of a story that sees young Billy (David Bradley) find escape through nature, in sharp contrast to the grind of his everyday life. While the climax is sobering it is also a call to arms for workers everywhere. Beyond the central performance of Bradley, Freddie Fletcher also puts in excellent work as his half-brother Jud, while the late-great Brian Glover excels as the epitome of everyone's most hated PE teacher.
This week, you'll have to wait for your short film kick until Sunday night, when Expensive Shit will be shown on BBC2. That's the film, not the latest unnecessary star vehicle. Adura Onashile's drama about a Nigerian toilet attendant won both the jury and audience awards at Glasgow's Short Film Festival last year. It'll be available to watch on iPlayer after it's television screening.
