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| Petite Maman Photo: Neon |
Petite Maman, streaming for free on All4.com
Celine Sciamma's short but perfectly formed fable comes at its story from a child's perspective. After Nelly's grandma dies, the eight-year-old goes with her mum Marion (Nina Meurisse) to help clear her gran's house. There, while out in the woods, she comes across a young girl of the same age... whose name also happens to be Marion and who, it seems, lives in the same property, although a different route is taken to reach it. Stitched carefully together by mutual understanding, this is time travel at its most subtle, as Sciamma explores parent and child bonds, while also celebrating the energy and acceptance of childhood. Like her earlier film Tomboy, it's filled with perfect shared moments – from the children (played by twins (Joséphine and Gabrielle Sange) messily making crepes or sharing their hopes and fears to Nelly nibbling on a cheese puff like a rabbit, while occasionally feeding one to her mum, who is driving. Perhaps more of an autumnal film than a summer one but it feels built entirely from love.
Anna And The Apocalypse, 1.55am, Film4, Tuesday, August 5
Jennie Kermode writes: This exuberant little film about what happened the day the end of the world came to Greenock, Renfrewshire, won the hearts of exactly those people who most expected to hate it when it was on the festival circuit. High school musicals are not normally a big hit with horror fans, and adding random zombies to otherwise tired film formulae has proven less popular than many filmmakers hoped, yet somehow this gutsy little production pulls it off. That's thanks in large part to an energetic young cast with a very Scottish sense of humour, forced to navigate the perils of teenage crushes and horrible headmasters while dealing with the undead at the same time. Smart, punchy, full of great songs and another entry in the list of genuinely fun Christmas films for when you're all Die Harded out.
45 Years, 11.15pm, Film4, Tuesday, August 5
As with Petite Maman, time also has an impact in Andrew Haigh's adaptation of David Constantine's short story, In Another Country, the tale of a long-married couple whose marriage is thrown into turmoil. The drama unfolds in the run-up to Geoff (Tom Courtenay) and Kate's (Charlotte Rampling) 45th wedding anniversary. They find themselves kicked off-course when news arrives that the body of a long-dead old flame of Geoff's has been found in a glacier. Things that once seemed solid to Kate are suddenly fluid, as she struggles to cope with the ghosts of the past. Geoff, meanwhile, finds himself increasingly at sea in the present. The performances strike a compelling balance between Courtenay's understated portrayal of the sincere but hapless Geoff and Rampling's subtle unravelling of Kate. Read what Haigh and Rampling told us about the film.
The Naked Gun original trilogy, ITVX, streaming now
With Liam Neeson doing a solid job of reviving this franchise in cinemas, you can, er, beaver away at catching up with the original trio on ITV's free streaming service. The first instalment is no doubt the first is the pick of the bunch, not least for being the first to air the Police Squad gags so many of us had come to know and love on the big screen, the other two are none too shabby either. Drebin's clueless detective is one of the best comic creations of the past 50 years and Leslie Nielsen was a master of the deadpan craft, no matter what mayhem was unfolding around him. Priscilla Presley is also perfect opposite him. The plots are negligible, but the "nothing to see here" sight gags flow freely and it's all very silly, in a good way.
Official Competition, 2am, Film4, Wednesday, August 6
Familiar themes about competitive egos in the film world get a decent trot out in this Spanish language comedy that is definitely elevated by how much fun Penélope Cruz and Antonio Banderas are having as two of the leads. Cruz plays a film director – the wonderfully named Lola Cuevas -- who is hired by an ageing pharmaceutical billionaire to direct a film to cement his legacy. That film is a melodramatic potboiler set to star mainstream hunk Felix Rivero (Banderas, joyfully sending up his own career) and arthouse luvvy Ivan Torres (Oscar Martinez). A triangulated battle of wills ensues as Cuevas provokes her stars. If some of the humour is familiar, the deadpan shooting style nonetheless pays dividends.
Two Faces Of January, 11pm, BBC2, Friday, August 8
Jennie Kermode writes: A dream cast brings tenderness and soul to Hossein Amini's adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's melancholy thriller. Oscar Isaac, in one of his first leading roles, plays Rydal, a young man who makes his living by guiding tourists around Athens, with the odd bit of swindling and seduction along the way. He meets his match in elegant yet sociopathic conman Chester (Viggo Mortensen) and his much younger wife Colette (Kirsten Dunst). When the three leave the city in haste after Chester kills a private detective, their fortunes become increasingly bound up together. This is complicated by Rydal and Colette's mutual attraction, though it's between the two men that the sparks really fly. Rydal sees Chester as a surrogate father figure but it's plain that there's more to it than that, and as Colette finds herself squeezed out, her existence becomes increasingly precarious. Beautiful, bleached cinematography presents Classical ruins in a whole new way and an orchestral score full of yearning and regret completes the picture. It's a must see for mystery fans who find themselves most intrigued by the human dimension.
20,000 Days On Earth, 1.20am, Film4, Sunday, August 10
This intimate portrait of Nick Cave, considers both the singer and his art and the nature of the creative process. Documentarians Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard take a playful approach to the subject, blending fiction in with the facts in order to consider memory and transformation – using a therapist to quiz Cage on the more psychological aspects of his life. The innovative approach, gives this documentary a freshness but it also delivers for fans in terms of biographic detail and concert footage. Read our interview with the directors and our full review.
This week’s short selection is Joanny Causse’s Rachels Don’t Run – pop over to Dailymotion to see it.
