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| Shoplifters Photo: Fuji Television Network/Gaga Corporation/AOI Pro Inc All rights reserved |
Shoplifters, 1.40am, Film4, Tuesday, February 11
Consigned rather unfairly to the small hours, Hirokazu Kore-eda's Oscar-nominated tale (it lost out to Roma) is well worth staying up for. His drama charts what happens when a family of crooks take in - or, perhaps more accurately, steal - a young girl they find on the street. Kore-eda's regular themes concerning family and connection are all in evidence here as he gradually lets the emotional heft build from the humourous eccentricity of this clan. He has always been an enjoyably unhurried director and he takes his time to explore the lives of the members of the family before moving the film into unexpectedly emotional territory.
12 Years a Slave, 11.25pm, Film4, Wednesday, February 12
It seems incredible to think that, in 2014, Steve McQueen's film became the first produced and directed by a black filmmaker - and written by an African American (John Ridley, adapting from Solomon Northrop's memoir) - to win the Best Picture Oscar, although McQueen lost out in the Best Director stakes to Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity. It's apt, then, that the film reminds us that the issues surrounding slavery and the powerful and the powerless aren't just something from the history books but still, unfortunately, fiercely a part of our times. Based on the true story of violinist and family man Northrop (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who was born a free man but who was kidnapped and transported to Louisiana - where slavery still raged. McQueen shows not just the physical abuse but also the psychological violence that stems from white privilege and the difficulties of breaking free from something so culturally ingrained. There's a rawness and subtlety to the action and performances - both from Ejiofor and Lupita Nyong'o as a housemaid who unfortunately catches the eye of brutal slave owner Epps (Michael Fassbender) - that brings home the horror and makes sure it takes up residence in your head.
Bridget Jones’s Diary, 10pm, Channel 5, Valentine's Day
With Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy hitting cinemas on Valentine's Day, it's not surprising that one of the channels is showing the original for those who prefer their date nights at home. Certainly the opening scene in which Bridget sits on a couch slugging wine and singing All By Myself is one for the ages, and Renee Zellweger is fabulous in the role. Watch the way she tentatively starts singing in this scene before crescendoing to a full blast. Most of us have been there. She brings an admirable everywoman quality to Bridget, who is determined to lose weight and stop smoking among other things. In the potential love department is her womanising boss Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) and, unexpectedly, barrister Mark Darcy (Colin Firth). It may not be the greatest script ever written but Zellweger grabs it by the rabbit ears and sells it in spades.
Blue Jean, 11.05pm, BBC1, Valentine's Day
Speaking of actresses who nail their character, Rosy McEwen announced herself as a name to watch in Georgia Oakley's tense tale of a lesbian school teacher set against the backdrop of Thatcher's Britain. Her PE teacher, Jean, is striving hard to reconcile her personal life with her lesbian girlfriend Viv (Kerrie Hayes, also exceptionally good) with her closeted professional one. The era of the late Eighties - hanging under the shadow of Section 28, which barred schools from "promoting the teaching of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship" - is perfectly evoked. Jean's whole life is riven with conflict, which escalates with the arrival of new girl in class Lois (Lucy Halliday). Shot with a blue-infused colour palette by Oakley, she highlights the destructive nature of denial.
Medusa Deluxe, MUBI, streaming now
This enjoyable British flick has just returned to MUBI - and is well worth checking out if you haven't already. Thomas Hardiman's debut is edited to give the appearance of a single-take as a murder mystery unfolds backstage at a hairdressing contest. After a stylist is found dead, gossip abounds and Hardiman makes good use of a strong ensemble cast as his tale of rivalries and complicated relationships unfolds, captured with fluid grace by cinematographer Robbie Ryan. Clare Perkins as a no-nonsense stylist working on a baroque barnet is the standout.
Compartment No 6, 10.45pm, BBC4, Saturday, February 15
If you happened to catch and enjoy Yura Borisov's nuanced turn as a henchman in the Oscar-nominated Anora, won't want to miss him sharing centrestage in Juho Kuosmanen's tale of unexpected connection forged on a train. Finnish student Laura (Seidi Haarla) has just had a romance with her older female lover go sour, so the last thing she needs is to find herself sharing a sleeping car on the train to Murmansk with cocky miner Lhoja (Borisov). Kuosmanen initially makes us feel nervous but this is, in part at least, a film that encourages us not to judge a book by its cover. Immersive and packed with everyday detail, this is a film that encourages you to hop aboard with its characters and spend some quality time with them.
Quo Vadis, Aida, 1.25am, BBC2, Sunday, February 16
Jasmila Zbanic's measured and powerful drama considers the run-up to Srebrenica genocide, which left more than 8000 dead, from the perspective of UN interpreter Aida Selmanagic (Jasna Djuricic), her headteacher husband Nihad (Izudin Bajrovic) and their two teenage sons Hamdija (Boris Ler) and Sejo (Dino Bajrovic). We remain gripped to Aida as the crisis in her hometown looms and watch as the United Nations fails to intervene with devastating consequences. Djuricic puts in a masterful performance as a mum under increasing pressure as her panic mounts from within the chaos of a UN camp while her husband and sons are outside. Clear-sighted and with an epilogue that packs a punch, Zbanic's drama is not to be missed.
We're still having a small technical glitch with our short films archive, but our weekly short cut will be back as soon as we're able.
