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| The African Queen |
The African Queen, noon, Sky Arts, Monday, August 31
Start you week right by taking a delightful Oscar-winning river trip. Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn play a chalk and cheese gin-loving sailor and a prim missionary who end up attempting to sink a German gunboat. John Huston's film, shot with skill with Jack Cardiff, just about has the lot, from adventure to comedy and a slowburn unlikely romance. It earned Bogart his one and only Oscar and it cheers me to say that the steamboat is still in existence, now offering daily canal cruises in Key Largo, Florida.
Carol, 11.30pm, Film4, Monday, August 31
Patricia Highsmith's novel The Price Of Salt enjoys an exquisitely crafted adaptation by screenwriter Phyllis Nagy and director Todd Haynes. Described by Haynes as a film about "looking and being looked at", it tells the tale of aspiring photographer and store clerk Therese (Rooney Mara), who falls for the elegant Carol (Cate Blanchett), who is going through a messy divorce. This is a slow-burn watch, brimming with conflicting desires and featuring performances that could easily have walked away with Oscars - although the stars lost out to Brie Larson (Room) and Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl). As with all of Haynes' films, the look - shot by regular collaborator Edward Lachman - and costuming by Sandy Powell are also impeccable. Read our interview with Christine Vachon and Elizabeth Karlsen about the film, and what the director and stars said about it in Cannes and New York,
12 Years A Slave, 9pm, Film4, Thursday, September 3
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. His film reminds us that issues surrounding slavery and the powerful and the powerless aren't just confined to the history books but still, unfortunately, fiercely a part of our times. It's 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.
The Godfather, 10.20pm, BBC4, Thursday, and currently available to stream on BBC iPlayer
Here's an offer you can't refuse - a late night with this stone-cold classic. This film marked a run of serious form from Francis Ford Coppola, who would follow it up with The Conversation and, bucking the trend for sequels, the equally excellent The Godfather: Part II. The tale of Don Vito Corleone's family and the shifting face of the mob in 1940s America continually contrasts family connection with gang brutality and features a who's who of acting greats, including Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall and Diane Keaton. Robert De Niro - who would go on to play the young Corleone in the sequel - auditioned for the role of Sonny (played in the film by Caan, who won an Oscar nomination for his portrayal) and you can take a look at that here.
Anora, Netflix, streaming from Thursday, September 3
It's a good week for Oscar-winners, and this tragicomic twist on a Pretty Woman-style plot from Sean Baker is another cracker. Mikey Madison is a revelation as the Brooklyn sex worker at its heart. When she crosses paths with a Russian oligarch's son (Mark Eydelshteyn), he falls for her hook line and sinker, offering to pay for her to be his girlfriend for the week. She grabs the chance and is determined to hang on to it even after Ivan's dad sends one of his boys around to bring his son back in line. A high energy romp that sees Baker balance moments of black comedy with grittier elements around the magnetic Madison.
Alcarràs, MUBI, streaming now
MUBI is currently showcasing films by Catalonian filmmaker Carla Simón, including this top notch ensemble drama which tracks a family over a sultry summer. After lifetime of peach farming, they are facing losing their livelihood and their home as the trees are replaced by solar panels. Simón handles the multi-layered experiences of both the children and adults with balanced ease, whether its grandad Rogelio (Josep Abad) contemplating what is to be lost, youngsters getting up to mischief amid the orchards or teenagers taking shape into the adults they will become. Simón shows the frictions of family life but also emphasises the way that clans also come together as a unit when it counts. You can also catch Summer 1993 (from Friday) and her most recent film Romeria on the service.
The Blood On Satan's Claw, 3.15am, Legend, Monday, September 7
Jennie Kermode writes: Set in the aftermath of the English Civil War, when an urgent effort was underway to modernise ordinary people’s thinking and restore civilised values, Piers haggard’s folk horror classic uses diabolic motifs to tell a story whose underlying premise is a battle of ideas. It sees an isolated village fall prey to the malign influence of a charismatic teenage girl with a penchant for cruelty, whose brutal gang the adults are at a loss as to how to deal with. Where spiritual authority fails, only academic learning offers hope, but there is a terrible price to pay. Cleverly shot in a way that further distinguishes the children from the preceding generation, this sophisticated film has deep roots and ongoing relevance today.
We're going back to Simón for our short selection this week. Her latest short Flamenco, which considers the dance art form. Pop over to Vimeo to see it.
