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| Eternal You Photo: Courtesy of Sundance Institute |
Eternal You, streaming on BBC iPlayer now
With artificial intelligence playing an ever greater role in all of our lives, it’s worth thinking about how it is also being used to, in theory at least, help us tackle death. Moritz Riesewieck and Hans Block's documentary seems increasingly relevant as more and more people begin to use chatbots for everything from language learning to companionship. Their troubling film considers the concept of “thanobots”, which use dead loved ones’ online history as a springboard for AI to conduct conversations after death. These are just the tip of the iceberg as companies look to provide a sort of digital life after death. As an exploration of the tech it's fascinating but also raises difficult questions of the morality that underpins it and the responsibility the firms have for the living who use their services. As Riesewieck and Block told us: “What's interesting is that even people who think absolutely clearly who sometimes even work in the tech fields, can be so deceived and so seduced that after a while, they forget that on the other side there’s not a ‘person’ there.”
The Transporter, 9pm, Film4, Wednesday, July 16
Jennie Kermode writes: Its reputation may have been dulled by familiarity now, and it is too easily thought of in connection with the weaker entries in a franchise which offered ever diminishing returns, but when the original Transporter burst onto screens in 2002 it was a real game changer, and it’s worth watching afresh today. It’s really the film that launched the career of Jason Statham, who brought that rare combination of action prowess and actual acting ability to bear in combination with a Luc Besson script and Cory Yuen’s gift for creating sensational set pieces. The fight scenes are the best of it but there are some fantastic car chases in there too, and though the plot is rather slender, it’s quite sufficient for a film in which you’ll barely have time to ask questions – or to catch your breath.
Manhunter, 11pm, BBC2, Tuesday and at 10.55pm, BBC4, Thursday, July 17
From its moody colour scheme to the chilling performance from Brian Cox as Hannibal Lecktor - a masterclass in moderation - Michael Mann's adaptation of Thomas Harris' novel is a compelling watch. Silence Of The Lambs might have gone on to be a splashier affair but there's a subtler and just as satisfying psychological interplay at work between William Peterson's damaged FBI agent Will Graham and Cox's manipulative murderer as Graham faces a race against time to discover the true identity of another killer, known as the Tooth Fairy. Although a film regular these days, this role marked a step up for Cox - recommended to Mann for the role by Brian Dennehy - who had mostly been confined to the small screen before then.
Babylon, 9.30pm, Film4, Friday, July 18
Nothing and nobody is undersold in Damian Chazelle’s epic consideration of the stars and excesses of 1920s Hollywood – manic it maybe but it’s never dull. The cast includes Brad Pitt as the serial marrying/divorcing Jack Conrad, Margot Robbie as young starlet Nellie LaRoy and Diego Calva as Mexican immigrant Manny, who is also trying to get a start in the business. The parties and career machinations are playing out against the backdrop of studios’ moving from the silent to the sound era, although not everyone will be convinced by Chazelle’s insistence on Baz Luhrmann levels of hedonism or the sprawling plot.
Gosford Park, 10.30pm, BBC1, Saturday, July 19
Jennie Kermode writes: This murder mystery in a stately home (a world away from the empty frippery of Downton Abbey which its screenwriter Julian Fellowes would go on to co-create) offers a withering critique of the country’s class system, even if it expresses it in a terribly genteel way. In the tradition of heritage films like A Room With A View and The Remains Of The Day, it dazzles viewers with pretty period costumes and its stately home setting while revealing the damage done by the habitual exploitation of inherited power. Even the aristocrats are not really free, the choices constrained by social expectation and potential financial precarity at every turn. Robert Altman directs with a light touch and the mostly splendid cast improvise brilliantly. The final song sums it up. In films like this, perhaps, we are looking not for reality but for the dream of England, for a lovely land of might-have-been.
Mud, 11.50pm, BBC2, Saturday, July 19
Jeff Nichols' 2013 drama sees two teenagers try to reunite a fugitive with his long-term love. It marked something of a turning point for Matthew McConaughey, who had a serious run of good films after this, including Dallas Buyers Club, Wolf Of Wall Street and Magic Mike. Here he plays Mud, an offbeat charmer who befriends teenagers Ellis (Tye Sheridan) and Neckbone (Jacob Lofland), who try to help the course of true love run smooth with unintended consequences. A coming-of-age tale that is less about the loss of innocence than the gaining of knowledge, this is a modern descendant of Mark Twain's Huck Finn.
Missing Link, 2.05pm, BBC1, Sunday, July 20
The small Laika animation studio continues to punch above its weight with an impressive back catalogue includes Coraline and Kubo And The Two Strings - sees a famous explorer escort a sasquatch to Tibet in search of his kin. Hugh Jackman is a hoot as the egotistical explorer, while excellent support is provided by Zack Galifianakis as the sweetly literally minded Mr Link and Zoe Saldana as the smarter-than-both-of them Adelina, who also joins their quest. Funny and adventurous while cleverly tackling ideas of prejudice, it's a family film with a lot of heart. We’ll have to wait a while longer for Laika’s next film, Wildwood, which has had its release date pushed back to next year. Those on a Laika kick can also catch Coraline and Kubo streaming over on ITVX.
This week’s short selection is a black comedy for adults, so you’ll have to nip over to Vimeo to watch it. Fucking Bunnies, directed by Teemu Niukkanen – who has since moved into TV work – sees a man find his liberal credentials strained by the arrival of a family of satanists next door.
