For Sama Sat 26/10 CH4 @ 21.00
A stunning documentary about 5 years in the life of Waad al-Kateab as she lives and loves and eventually gives birth to her daughter Sama during the Syrian civil war. This is film making at it's most humane and intimate. It's haunting, it's horrifying but it's strangely beautiful too as the human capacity for survival shines through. Be warned, this is a distressing watch but it should be.
The Railway Man Sat 26/10 RTE2 @ 22.00
A man ruined by the torture he was put through in the Pacific theatre of World War 2 finds out the person responsible is still alive and he wants to face him one last time. A dark,grim film made watchable by a superb performance from the always reliable Colin Firth. An unusual film too in that it portrays the horrors of war intimately rather than on an epic scale as most war films do. Powerful stuff.
Good Night And Good Luck Sat 26/10 TG4 @ 22.45
Los Angeles. The early 1950's. McCarthyism is in full flow and the communist witch hunts are in full flow. Two men decide to take a stand knowing full well it might destroy them. George Clooney's 2005 drama is an excellent watch about a era of American histry of which it is rightfully ashamed. The cast led by David Strathairn, Patricia Clarkson and Clooney himself does no wrong.
The Sapphires Sun 27/10 BBC1 @ 00.10
A thoroughly enjoyable film about a band of four Aboriginal women who find themselves playing in Vietnam to entertain American soldiers during the war in the 60's. Warm, uplifting stuff that gives some insight into a culture we rarely see in films with first rate performances from Miranda Tapsell & Deborah Mailman and Chris O'Dowd who is hilarious as their manager.
The Spy Gone North Sun 27/10 BBC4 @ 22.00
26 years ago Suk-young Park became a secret agent for South Korea and his first assignment was to infiltrate a group of North Korean nuclear program officials based in China. Things go very well. Until they don't. Timely and thrilling stuff, if you like your films with a touch of spycraft then you'll love this. Jung-min Hwang and Sung-min Lee do well in the lead roles.
The Birds Mon 28/10 TCM @ 23.40
Melanie Daniels has travelled north from San Francisco to Bodega Bay to visit a friend. As she arrives the birds in the sky above start acting very strangely indeed. One of Hitchcock's most famous films is a troubling, oppressive and unnerving watch that hasn't aged a day despite being 50+ years old. Tippi Hedren and Rod Taylor do splendid work as the leads.
The VVitch Tues 29/10 Film4 @ 01.10
The America's of the 1600's were a strange and scary place as one family finds out when they are shunned from their religious community and try to start a new life at the edge of a forest. Now this is a film that will leave you on edge for a long time before it truly frightens the life out of you. Nothing better than a horror movie that fully commits to it's premise. Eek! Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson and Kate Dickie are all on fire.
King Kong Thur 31/10 BBC2 @ 14.55
Time for a classic. A film crew head to a strange place called Skull Island to shoot a film and discover a gigantic monster worshipped and feared by the locals who takes a shine to the leading lady. 86 years later this film still has the power to amaze, enthrall and terrify. It is an honest to god masterpiece. Fay Wray and Carl Denham do super work as the leads but the star of the show here is the titular character.
The Graduate Fri 1/11 RTE1 @ 23.50
"Here's to you Mrs Robinson". We all know the song but this is the film it's from. Dustin Hoffman is at his geeky best as a man who becomes involved with a older woman and her daughter. Complications ensue. A funny, wry, sarcastic and cynical film that rightly sits highly in many Top 10 of All time lists. It's dated but somehow ageless and it's one worth setting your box to record. Plus Anne Bancroft rules.
Half Of A Yellow Sun Fri 1/11 BBC2 @ Midnight
2 sisters with opposing ideologies find themselves drawn together during civil unrest in 1960's Nigeria. This film wasn't well reviewed on release but I genuinely liked it. Some of Britains finest actor's probably help the film's case too. Thandie Newton (so good recently in Line Of Duty), Chiwetel Ejiofor and John Boyega are all great as usual and the film will give you an insight into an area of history we rarely hear about in the west.
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