Best on the box
James Croot’s top TV picks for the week ahead.
Hail, Caesar, 9pm, Saturday, Three
A love letter to the Hollywood Studio System, the Coen brothers’ 2016 comedy is a riotous tale that will appeal to fans of 1950s movies and the duo’s previous films like O Brother, Where Art Thou? and The Hudsucker Proxy. Filled with the usual colourfully named characters and chaotic scenarios, the cast includes George Clooney, Josh Brolin, Tilda Swinton, Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum and Ralph Fiennes.
Embrace of the Serpent, 8.30pm, Monday, Rialto
Shot in evocative black-and-white, this Oscar-nominated 2015 Colombian film has echoes of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto and the works of Rolf de Heer. Amazonian shaman Karamakae, the last of his people, helps two European scientists (on individual journeys, separated by 40 years) to find a sacred healing plant. A provocative and compelling drama, with a stunning sting in its tale.
I Am Heath Ledger, 8.45pm, Monday, Three
Like recent documentaries on Whitney Houston, Amy Winehouse and Kurt Cobain, this 2017 movie aims to tell the tale of a troubled life through the artist’s own words and that of their nearest and dearest. Australianborn Ledger was a rising Hollywood star who was arguably in his best form when he died in early 2008, aged just 28. ‘‘A touching celebration of his life,’’ wrote Entertainment Weekly.
Project Nim, 8.30pm, Monday, Ma¯ ori TV
With its heady mix of compelling true-life story, eccentric characters and dramatic tension, writer-director James Marsh (Man on Wire) mines yet another longforgotten slice of 1970s madness with this impressive 2011 documentary about the botched experiment involving a chimp raised like a human child.
Harry Potter: A History of Magic, 8.35pm, Tuesday, Prime
Miriam Margolyes narrates this new British documentary made to celebrate the British Library’s exhibition of the same name. As well as offering a tour of the priceless collection of Potter artefacts, it also features interviews with the film series’ actors Warwick Davis, David Thewlis, Mark Williams, Evanna Lynch, as well as author JK Rowling.
Life, Animated, 8.30pm, Thursday, Rialto
Falling silent at age 3, Owen Suskind’s parents feared he would never speak again. However, their routine of watching Disney animated classics together to forget about their troubles had an unexpected side-effect: Owen began to re-engage with and make sense of the world through the prism of The Lion King and Aladdin. With the help of copious clips and endearing new animation, Roger Ross Williams’
2016 documentary follows the now
20-something Suskind as he embarks on the next stage of his life – living alone.