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| And Then We Danced Photo: Courtesy of La Quinzaine |
And Then We Danced, 1am, Film4, Tuesday June 29
Strong energy, both on and off the dancefloor, drives Levan Akin's tale of love against a backdrop of repression in Georgia. Levan Gelbakhiani, who plays Merab, is a dancer by trade and his footwork skills are matched by a nuanced acting performance as Merab finds himself experiencing a fierce attraction to dancefloor rival Irakli (Bachi Valishvili). Akin has an eye for the intensity of emotion experienced in the first flush of love and the way that the merest glance or touch can hold a wealth of unleashed passion - and he makes a point of contrasting the burgeoning feelings Levan has for Irakli with the former's chaste attempts to woo his female dance partner. The entire story is led tension by the clear and present threat that being gay in Georgia poses to both men. Read our full review.
Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan, 9pm Friday, Film 4
Trekkies can fill their boots this Friday and Saturday as the first nine films screen back to back, starting at 6.20pm with Star Trek: The Motion Picture. This second in the series is arguably the best of the bunch, featuring a towering performance from Ricardo Montalban as villain Khan - reprising the role he first took on in a 1967 episode of the original series. The warlord is out for vengeance after Kirk (William Shatner) sent him into exile and the film fully explores this personal conflict while offering, for its time, solid action sequences and a finale that dares to be less than completely feel good. Read our full review.
ET: The Extra-Terrestrial, Netflix
More older fare is creeping on to the streaming service of late, and this week marks the arrival of this enduring family favourite about a lost alien who just wants to get home. Steven Spielberg's trademark focus on children's experience is here as the camera gets down to their level as they take on a world of, largely uncaring, adults and a friendship blossoms between Elliot (Henry Thomas) and the little man from outer space. The message of peace, love and understanding is surprisingly sugar-free thanks to Melinda Mathison's snappy script that shows a sharp ear for the knockabout interaction between kids. Read our full review.
The Producers, BBC iPlayer, until end of July
Mel Brooks hit the ground running with this, his debut movie - originally slated to have the name Springtime For Hitler. The always larger than life Zero Mostel teams up with Gene Wilder, in only his second role, as a producer and accountant who plan to make millions - providing their show is a complete flop. Brooks cleverly builds on the yawning gap between Wilder's mousy Bloom and Mostel's rambunctious Bialystock, while the sight gags and one-liners keep coming. Brooks imagination knows no bounds, racing from tiny asides to big band numbers while barely pausing for breath - all while taking a sideswipe at Broadway and the Nazis. Read our full review.
Restless Natives, BBC iPlayer, until end of July
Beloved by Scots audiences of a certain age, Michael Hoffman's tale of a pair of modern wannabe highwaymen has achieved cult status down the years. While not quite delivering the same calibre of sweetness and warmth as Bill Forsyth, it covers similar ground as a pair of likely lads (Vincent Friell and Joe Mullaney) start to hold up tourist coaches and become unlikely folk heroes along the way. The plot is a bit scrappy in places but the humour strong throughout and there's a lovely turn from the recently departed Ned Beatty, as a CIA agent who finds himself unexpectedly on the case. Read our full review.
Moon, 9pm, Great! Movies (Freeview channel 33), Thursday, and 11.05pm, Sunday July 4
Duncan Jones' debut centres on Sam Bell - an astronaut at the end of a three-year solo mission to harvest Helium-3 energy from the Moon. He begins to think he may be losing it just as he is on the verge of being sent home to his family - but soon he becomes convinced that his paymasters may have a more sinister agenda. It is hard to talk too much about Rockwell's performance without spoiling a key element of the plot but it allows him to show the full extent of his range. The focus is on plot rather than special effects but the ones that are used are seamless. As Jones told us: "We found an approach that allowed Sam to be his improvisational best, while still making sure I got the technical discipline I needed." Read our full review.
The Handmaiden, 11.10pm, Film4, Wednesday, June 30
Jennie Kermode writes: Park Chan-wook is known for his stylish and violent revenge thrillers, yet here he takes on something a little different, plunging into the Gothic and exploring its nuances with a subtlety which reveals his mastery of the filmmaking craft. There are oblique references to the work of the Marquis de Sade in this tightly structured erotic mystery, and like that author, Park is keenly aware that the telling of an explicit tale can be an erotic act in itself. There are multiple layers of such telling here within a fabulous Gothic mansion which is every bit as mysterious, in which we meet a trader in rare books, an imperilled heiress, a faux nobleman who plans to ruin her and a pickpocket turned lady in waiting who may of might not be a party to the others' schemes but can't conceal her passion for the heiress herself. Nothing is what it seems in one of those rare puzzle-box films capable of confounding the smartest of viewers - yet for all its cleverness and dazzling beauty, what is most striking is the way it tightens its grip, making the viewer complicit in the game. Read our full review.
This week's short is Czech film Leshy, an atmospheric dark fairy tale from Pavel Soukup about a mythical beast who has been woken by poachers.
LESHY (a short dark fairy tale) from Pavel Soukup on Vimeo.
