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| Capernaum Photo: Fares Sokhon |
Capernaum, 1.25am, Film4, Tuesday, December 5
The plight of children on the poverty line in Lebanon is put front and centre by Nadine Labaki's neorealist drama about youngster Zain (Zain Al Rafeea, in a performance that doesn't just show him as a victim but as a kid who is railing furiously against the injustices he faces), who runs away from home after his parents sell his sister. The story unfolds in two strands - one showing him scraping by on the street and the other in the confines of a courtroom where he is suing his parents for neglect. Although Labaki leans into the melodrama a little heavily in places, this is nevertheless a deeply affecting film that grips at a visceral level. Al Rafeea is now resettled in Norway, something Labaki told us about.
The Wicker Man, 10pm, BBC4, Tuesday, December 6
Fifty years to the week from when it was originally released, Robin Hardy's classic folk horror still has a burning influence on a genre that has made a resurgence in recent times with the likes of Midsommar. Edward Woodward stars as Sergeant Howie, a cop sent to the remote Scottish Summerisle in a bid to locate a missing girl. A devout Christian, his beliefs run up against the Pagan rituals on the island, personified by Christopher Lee, as the lord of the isle. Unsettling from the start, the off-kilter nature of Summerisle and its inhabitants becomes increasingly sinister, with the film's mood feeding off Howie's anxiety as he faces both the threat of the isle and the temptations of Britt Ekland's pub barmaid. "With the original film, we wanted to explore the idea of what would happen if we all woke up one days and Christianity was no longer the dominant religion, and instead there was a Pagan shrine down the road," Hardy once told us. You can read the rest of that interview here.
Rosemary's Baby, 1am, Film4, Wednesday, December 7
If The Wicker Man puts you in the mood for cult horror, then why not stay up late and catch Roman Polanski's tense and unsettling classic while you're at it? It's another hugely influential horror that has seen hundreds of other filmmakers' 'babies' descend from it down the years. Mia Farrow stars as Rosemary, who moves into a massive Gothic-style apartment with her newly wed husband (John Cassavetes). The film lulls us into a false sense of security with its soapy trappings initially before it takes a turn for the sinister as her nosey neighbour Minnie (Ruth Gordon on sparkling Oscar-winning form) and her husband Roman (Sidney Blackmer) start to pay her more and more attention - especially when, after eating one of Minnie's mousses, she falls pregnant. The film's psychological success springs from pushing many of the genuine small fears and doubts experienced by pregnant women to the max as Rosemary begins a descent into madness.
Django Unchained, 11.05pm, Channel 5, Thursday, December 7
Leonardo DiCaprio offers a masterclass in villainy as a brutal plantation owner in Quentin Tarantino's blaxploitation-inflected western - both traditional and spaghetti. DiCaprio's Calvin Candie comes up against Jamie Foxx's Django, a freed slave who is out to rescue his wife Broomhilda (Kerry Washington). From its lavish period design to its snappy dialogue that eviscerates racism, Tarrantino holds nothing back whether he's laying out an intricate piece of back and forth or simply laying on the violence. The ensemble cast is also excellent, featuring Christoph Waltz on Oscar-winning form as an eccentric dentist-turned-bounty-hunter and Samuel L Jackson as Candie's "Uncle Tom"-like right-hand man. Read what Tarantino and DiCaprio said about the film here, plus Jackson's thoughts and more from DiCaprio on playing the villain.
Mission: Impossible, 6.50pm, Film4, Saturday, December 9
As Tom Cruise's action franchise shows no signs of slowing down, here's a chance to see where it all started. Cruise's Ethan Hunt has weathered down the years when you consider his much cockier turn in Brian De Palma's first instalment. Beginning with a sting gone bad in Prague, which takes down his team, Hunt finds himself forced to go rogue after he is held responsible in order to track down the real villains. De Palma draws on the original Sixties series in terms of style but adds a slickness that's all of his own and even though the stunts are not as outlandish as they are in future episodes, they're delivered with a precision tension that grips just as tight.
Them That Follow, 1.40am, Channel 4, Sunday, December 10
One of the more unusual entries from Olivia Colman's back catalogue, she plays a fearsome – and God fearing – Appalachian ma Hope in this tense indie film that is definitely not for the snake phobic. Mara (Alice Englert) is lined up for an arranged marriage to Garret (Lewis Pullman), thanks to her pastor father (Walton Goggins, on fine form as ever), which presents a problem for her secret romance with Hope's son Augie (Thomas Mann). It's really the rattle snakes owned by the pastor that top, the bill though, as his church believes: "They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." Although suffering a little from signposting in terms of plot Britt Poulton and Dan Madison Savage keep a tight grip on the mood and deliver plenty of mayhem in the film's final third.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show, 10pm, BBC2, Sunday, December 10
It might be the ultimate communal crowdpleaser, attracting audiences all over the globe to dress up as Tim Curry's Frank N Furter and throw rice at the screen and what you do in your own home on a Sunday night is entirely up to you! Even if you don't decide to dress up and go the whole hog, Jim Sharman's film is still the perfect late-night repeat watch, as Brad and Janet (Barry Bostwick and Susan Sarandon) get more than they bargain for when they ask the residents of a strange house for assistance. Even if you decide not to turn your living room into a rice and toast bombsite, there's little doubt you'll enjoy doing the Time Warp again.
This week's short selection is Play It Safe, directed by Mitch Kalisa, starring Noughts + Crosses' Jonathan Ajayi
Play It Safe from Mitch Kalisa on Vimeo.
