Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Simon Wardell

The Fabelmans to Minority Report: the seven best films to watch on TV this week

From left: Keeley Karsten, Sophia Kopera, Michelle Williams and Gabriel LaBelle in The Fabelmans.
Family reel … (from left) Keeley Karsten, Sophia Kopera, Michelle Williams and Gabriel LaBelle in The Fabelmans. Photograph: Merie Weismiller Wallace/AP

Pick of the week

The Fabelmans

Steven Spielberg mines his own history for his most personal film yet, an emotional 1950s-set drama about family, growing up and the power of cinema. It follows Sammy Fabelman (played by Gabriel LaBelle as a teenager), who becomes obsessed with movie-making at a young age and persists with his celluloid dream as the family relocate from New Jersey to Arizona to California. Although there is nostalgia for the post-war age of opportunity, there is antisemitism, too – and domestic turbulence between his parents (Michelle Williams and Paul Dano). But through Sammy’s creations, Spielberg reminds us how films can both uncover the truth and distort it.
Friday, 8pm, Sky Cinema Premiere

***

Henry V

Kenneth Branagh in Henry V.
Tense and brutal … Kenneth Branagh in Henry V. Photograph: AJ Pics/Alamy

For his first feature as director, stage star Kenneth Branagh took on a historical drama with history: Shakespeare’s tale of a young leader proving himself on the battlefield was also Laurence Olivier’s debut behind the camera. Undaunted, Branagh created a version that is more tense and brutal – and muddier – than his thespian forebear’s, while retaining the poetry and passion of the play (“We few, we happy few” etc). A weighty supporting cast including Judi Dench, Paul Scofield and Brian Blessed help bring to life a film of fervour and finesse.
Saturday, 1.15pm, BBC Two

***

Minority Report

Samantha Morton and Tom Cruise in Minority Report.
Future altered … Samantha Morton and Tom Cruise in Minority Report. Photograph: 20 Century Fox/Allstar

Another terrific sci-fi film culled from the writings of Philip K Dick, this Tom Cruise/Steven Spielberg collaboration melds the best of them both. Cruise plays a cop in the Precrime unit in 2054 Washington, which uses clairvoyants to predict murders before they happen. When his name comes up as a future killer he goes on the run, with Samantha Morton’s in-house psychic the focus of his attempt to prove his innocence. Cruise’s action chops (all that running!) and Spielberg’s skilled world-building make this thriller a must-see – but you knew that already …
Saturday, 11.05pm, Channel 4

***

Open Range

Robert Duvall and Kevin Costner in Open Range.
A hardy yarn … Robert Duvall and Kevin Costner in Open Range. Photograph: Pictorial Press Ltd/Alamy

Between actor-directors Kevin Costner and Clint Eastwood, the flame of the Hollywood western has been kept flickering since its golden age. Costner’s accomplished 2003 offering luxuriates in the cinematic expanses of Montana as it tells a hardy yarn of free-grazers v cattle ranchers. Robert Duvall’s Boss leads a herd alongside the taciturn yet loyal Charley (Costner), but they fall foul of Michael Gambon’s landowner. The lure of putting down roots – embodied in doctor’s sister Annette Bening – becomes a factor for Charley, though there’s a reckoning to be had first.
Sunday, 6.10pm, 5Action

***

Candyman

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II in Candyman.
Pleasingly complex … Yahya Abdul-Mateen II in Candyman. Photograph: Pictorial Press Ltd/Alamy

Nia DaCosta’s gripping, gory sequel to the 1992 chiller nestles nicely within its producer and co-writer Jordan Peele’s trademark African American folk horror realm. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s Chicago artist and his curator partner (Teyonah Parris) find their middle-class life crumbling when he researches the city’s now demolished ghetto Cabrini Green and its hook-handed bogeyman. Aside from the expertly handled scares, DaCosta’s depiction of Black urban life proves pleasingly complex.
Sunday, 10pm, BBC Three

***

Rashomon

Machiko Kyô and Toshirô Mifune in Rashomon.
Immortal love … Machiko Kyô and Toshirô Mifune in Rashomon. Photograph: Collection Christophel/Alamy

The phrase “fake news” could have been invented for Akira Kurosawa’s knotty 1950 period drama, the film that brought him global recognition. A series of people give evidence to a court about the murder of a samurai and the rape of his wife – including the accused bandit, the dead man’s spouse, a woodcutter who found the body and even the victim (via a medium). However, none of their narratives tally – so who’s lying, or are all of them? A disquieting look at the imperfect edges of human nature, where self-aggrandisement sits side by side with fear.
Monday, 6.15pm, Sky Cinema Greats

***

Land

Robin Wright in Land.
Leaving it all behind … Robin Wright in Land. Photograph: Pictorial Press/Alamy

Living off the grid might seem like a good idea when the weight of the world is getting too much. But, as Robin Wright’s grieving Edee finds when she moves to a remote cabin in Wyoming after her son and husband are killed, abandoning all mod cons merely gives you more time to dwell on the past. She’s also useless at self-sufficiency, which is where local Miguel (Demián Bichir) comes in, teaching her how to survive and, slowly, how to accept both death and life. Wright’s directorial debut is incredibly touching, with a feel for nature’s glories and human frailty.
Wednesday, 9pm, Film4

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.