Stay-At-Home Seven: February 22 to March 1

Films to catch on TV and streaming services this week

by Amber Wilkinson

The Silence Of The Lambs
The Silence Of The Lambs
The Silence Of The Lambs, 10pm, ITV4, Wednesday, February 22

Let's be honest, a glass of chianti has never looked quite the same since Anthony Hopkins slurped his Oscar-winning way through a line about it in Jonathan Demme's crime thriller. Although Brian Cox had already put in a memorable turn as sadistic serial killer Hannibal Lecter (in that case, Lektor) in Manhunter, Hopkins put his own silky stamp on it with this intense performance that is reciprocated by Jodie Foster as FBI agent Clarice Starling, who finds herself embroiled in a psychological wargame with the incarcerated murder as she tries to snare another monster. Much darker than your average Academy Award winner, Demme knows exactly what to show and what not to show to generate horror and tension. Chillingly effective even on a repeat watch.

Some Kind Of Heaven, Netflix

This quirky documentary may not be quite as good as the similarly themed The Bubble but it still offers an eye-opening insight into the sprawling retirement community of The Villages in Florida, which is already twice the size of Manhattan and home to 150,000 residents. Despite its Truman Show-like unreality, it's, on the surface of it, a haven for seniors, but director Lance Oppenheim zeroes in on the impact it has on both long-term and newly formed relationships. Keeping his focus on the anthropological impact of suddenly putting loads of people of a similar age into the same orbit, it's an interesting, often funny, consideration of late-life romance.

Bacurau, Film4, 12.45am, Saturday, February 26

Anne Katrin-Titze writes: Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles’ film is breathtaking from the start with Gal Costa singing Não Identificado by Caetano Veloso. From outer space and through the stars we discover Earth and land on a little spot in the Northeast of Brazil, called Bacurau. It isn't found on any map and you might even think that it is a kind of Brigadoon, a village that regularly sinks into the sands of time. We are not in the past, but in the future, one so close that you can almost touch the splendid sunsets, while wondering about the many coffins being delivered. We soon meet Sônia Braga, who plays the town’s doctor. She is devastated and drunk during a funeral which allows us to get a first glimpse at the lay of the land. Something is terribly wrong here. The phone reception is bad. In Polanski Chinatown fashion, the water supply is cut off for the area, also mirroring the very real water shortage in the Northeast of Brazil. Horses from the farm nearby run loose through the village one night. A local politician dumps a pile of books, as if it were a gift of garbage, made to be set on fire (François Truffaut’s Fahrenheit 451 may come to mind), rather than read. For centuries, the best tales of magic were told and retold because of their combination of the supernatural with our deepest darkest fears, a utopian setting with very real dilemmas, and a hopeful ending that speaks to our sense of justice. Bacurau harbours that heritage. Read our conversations with the directors: Another Layer, A heightened state and In directions nobody goes, our interview with Sônia Braga.

Blinded By The Light, BBC2, 10pm, Saturday, February 26

Gurinder Jadhar, who first came to prominence with Bhaji On The Beach and Bend It Like Beckham, continues to prove her knack for crafting warm-hearted movies with underlying messages about equality and prejudice with this Sundance favourite. As a fan of Bruce Springsteen - something Jadhar shares in common with writer Sarfraz Manzoor, on whose memoir this is based - she was the perfect choice for this coming-of-age tale about a teenager from a Pakistani family learning to find his feet in Eighties Luton. Viveik Kalra is also perfectly cast as the aspiring teenage writer at the story's heart, who finds comfort and inspiration in the music of The Boss as he negotiates the trials that come with teenagedom. Springsteen's music provides a singalong soundtrack in a film that comes from the heart.

Memento,12.45am, BBC1, Sunday, February 27

Back before Christopher Nolan became a blockbusting household name with the likes of Batman Begins and Inception, he made this twisty psychological thriller starring Guy Pearce (also much less well known at the time) as an insurance agent with short-term memory loss, who is trying to investigate the murder of his wife. Nolan (who co-wrote this with his brother Jonathan) has always been a fan of playing around with time and he does so with audacity here as the story unfolds both in chronological order - marked by the use of black-and-white stock - while also being shown in reverse, in colour, so that its secrets are gradually revealed.

Muppets Most Wanted, 2.45pm, BBC1,Sunday, February 27

This may not be the strongest outing of the Muppets - which we all know is their version of A Christmas Carol - but there's still plenty to recommend about this entry, even if it does feature the Marmite presence of Ricky Gervais, who doesn't have the range that Jason Segel brought to the 2011 reboot. Still, mayhem ensues after Kermit is caged when he's mistaken for his evil Russian Kermit doppelganger called Constantine, who is plotting a jewel heist. The plot doesn't really go the distance but there's some decent laughs and music along the way.

Frank, Film4, 1.05am, February 28

Lenny Abrahamson takes a rare walk on the humorous side with this film that adapted Jon Ronson and Peter Straughan and loosely based on Ronson's time as part of a band fronted by papier-mache head sporting Frank Sidebottom (the alter ego of Chris Sievey). Domhnall Gleeson plays Jon, who has a stroke of luck when he bumps into a band on a beach and suddenly finds himself being invited to play keyboards with them - "Can you play C, F, G? You're in". On turning up to the gig, however, he finds these outsider musicians - including permanently angry theramin player Clara (Maggie Gyllenhaal) - are a band with a difference, as they are fronted by Frank, an avant garde genius with issues, who never removes his papier mache head. The first part of the film is played mostly for laughs as the band attempt to cut a record in Ireland, while Jon uses his 'nest egg' to fund it. There are satiric sideswipes at social media courtesy of Jon's interminable tweeting, which nevertheless sees his follower list grow but the film also has a darker theme running through it concerning creativity and mental health. Despite trailing off a bit in its mid-section, Abrahamson's film is never less than ambitious or interesting and special praise must go to Michael Fassbender for making Frank so memorable and distinctive without the use of his face.

This week's short is Chris Shepherd's clever live action/animation hybrid Dad's Dead

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