A Month of Sundays Saturday, 8.30pm Rialto

Adelaide real estate agent Frank Mollard (Anthony LaPaglia) has become stuck in a rut. However, he is jolted from his torpor by a call from a woman (Julia Blake), who claims to be his mother. It intrigues him since she died the previous year. Writer-director Matthew Saville provides a terrific showcase for the quieter qualities of his leading man, LaPaglia.

600 Miles Monday, 8.30pm Rialto

Best described as a sort of low-budget, more urgent and intimate successor to Steven Soderbergh’s 2000 crimethriller Traffic, Gabriel Ripstein’s debut focuses on a young Mexican weaponssmuggler as he tries to increase his share of the market. Full of twists and turns, with a terrific performance from Tim Roth as a drug enforcement agent.

Taxi to the Dark Side Tuesday, 8.35pm Maori TV

This 2007 documentary takes an indepth look at the torture practices of the United States in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, focusing on an innocent taxi driver in Afghanistan who was tortured and killed in 2002.

A Year in Space Wednesday, 7.30pm Nat Geo

This 2016 documentary follows astronaut Scott Kelly as he spends a year living in space, while his identical twin Mark Kelly was monitored here on Earth. The study was aimed at collecting data that will help pave the way for crewed missions to Mars.

Prime Rocks: Queen – From Rags to Rhapsody Thursday, 8.30pm Prime

This 2015 BBC documentary digs deep into the archives to tell the story of Queen, following their journey from a struggling band gigging at pubs and colleges, to the moment they captured the world’s hearts and minds with Bohemian Rhapsody .– James Croot