THE SMALL SCREEN
New movies to stream this week:
“Stowaway”: Set on a space ship at the start of a two-year mission to Mars, Joe Penna’s “Stowaway” stars Toni Collette as the no-nonsense commander, with Anna Kendrick and Daniel Dae Kim as her capable crew. When an unconscious and badly injured member of the ground crew (Shamier Anderson) is found on board after liftoff — and one of the ship’s life-support systems broken beyond repair — the presence of an unaccounted-for fourth passenger, who will need more oxygen than the ship can provide, sets off a sequence of events that will force everyone to summon their best selves, and confront their fears and weaknesses. This isn’t standard Hollywood storytelling: Although the precise circumstances of the stowaway’s presence are left unclear, there’s no grand conspiracy or mystery to be solved, except as it relates to the film’s subtext of self-sacrifice. How will each of the four behave when called upon to make the most agonizing decision? Sure, there are scenes of nail-biting action and bravery, too, particularly in the white-knuckle third act. But deep down, “Stowaway” is a human drama, not one about technology and gadgets. TV-MA. Available on Netflix. Contains coarse language, some bloody images and disturbing thematic material. 1 hour, 56 minutes.
“Downstream to Kinshasa”: This documentary follows a group of wounded survivors of a six-day conflict fought between Uganda and Rwanda in 2000 in Congo as they seek $1 billion in compensation from the government in Kinshasa for their suffering. The New York Times calls their persistence against long odds and bureaucratic indifference “Sisyphean,” writing that, “watching the subjects of ‘Downstream to Kinshasa’ — whose tenacity the movie honors but never romanticizes — it’s hard not to wonder: What good is the right to protest if it falls on deaf ears?” Not rated. Available at afisilver.afi.com. In Swahili and Lingala, with subtitles. 1 hour, 29 minutes.
“The Great Green Wall”: A documentary about the ongoing effort to build a 5,000-mile-long “wall” of trees across the width of Africa, in an effort to counteract severe land degradation and accelerating climate change. Not rated. Available at afisilver.afi.com. In English, French, Bambara, Tigrinya and Hausa, with subtitles. 1 hour, 30 minutes. “Trigger Point”: Barry Pepper stars in an action thriller about a retired elite secret operative named Nicolas — once blamed for the exposure and assassination of his former team members — who is coaxed out of hiding by an old colleague to restore his reputation and prevent further bloodshed. The pop culture website cbr.com calls the film “competent, but incomplete,” writing that, “Pepper’s a good actor, but here, he mostly just looks exhausted.” Not rated. Available on demand. 1 hour, 22 minutes.