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| Onoda Photo: Courtesy of Cannes Film Festival |
Onoda: 10,000 Nights In The Jungle, streaming now on 4ondemand
Given that the channels seem to be saving up films for a big Easter splash at the moment, it's worth remembering that most of them have some great On Demand selections. Channel 4 has 15 world cinema choices at the moment, including this robust piece of storytelling from Arthur Harrari. It recounts the stranger-than-fiction tale of Hiroo Onoda (played as a young man by Endô Yûya and then by Tsuda Kanji) - a Japanese Army recruit who was deployed to the Philippines in the Second World War and who never got the message to lay down his gun. Harrari begins near the end of this tale before winding back the clock so that we can see how, as a rebellious youth, Onoda found himself seconded to the intelligence service. He and his fellow recruits are told they are to never surrender and that they "don't have the right to die" - instructions that drive the film. The war is virtually over when he gets to the Philippines - where the troops are under siege from the US and many are dying from illness. Onoda finds himself leading a scrappy thrown together unit of troops and Harrari charts what happens, not just for the next few months but as the years wear on. A gripping character study that is all the more remarkable for being true.
The Pod Generation, streaming on Netflix on Wednesday, March 26
Strong production design and sensitive performances by Emilia Clarke are Chiwetel Ejiofor the major selling points for this lightly handled near-future tale of a couple, Rachel and Alvy, who plan to use a detachable egg pod to start a family. Director Sophie Barthes' film has a fiercely feminist streak as it satirises everything from the pressures of the workplace to tech companies' adoption of organic looking products in order to win us over. “I love this idea of exploring the future because we can explore philosophical questions in a playful way," she told us. It may not be the most sharp-edged skewering of society you'll ever see but its situational comedy is strong and there's plenty of food for thought.
Late Night, 11.35pm, Wednesday, March 26
Powered by the dual fuel of Emma Thompson and Mindy Kaling, this snappy comedy tells the tale of British talk show host Katherine Newbury (Thompson) who is on the brink of losing her job. As she tries to steady the ship a new woman on her staff, the super-keen but naive Molly (Kaling) finds herself trying to handle her boss's cutting attitude and the rest of the all-male staff. Thompson, as ever, steals the show here, whether she's cutting people dead with one-liners or bringing Katherine's softer side to light in lovely worked scenes with John Lithgow, playing it straight, as her husband. The plot may be familiar but with Thompson and Kaling front and centre it still feels fresh.
Banel and Adam, 1.20am, Film 4, Thursday, March 27
This absorbing fable makes the most of its dramatic African backdrop where young married couple Banel (Khady Mane) and Adama (Mamadou Diallo) are shown to be madly in love. But Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s moving tale shows how the pair find themselves locking horns with their community as Banel rejects starting a family and Adama defies demands that he become the new tribal chief. An intense and, despite its looming tragedy, lyrical watch.
Get Out, 11.40pm, BBC1, Friday, March 28
Jennie Kermode writes: Jordan Peele’s blistering directorial debut, which draws on classic science fiction traditions but is absolutely up to the minute, presents the viewer with several layers of trap to try and escape from. As the opening sequence reminds us, simply being a young black man in a white supremacist society means it could be necessary to escape from a pursuer at any time, but for Chris (Daniel Kaluuya), life seems pretty sweet. He’s happy with his white girlfriend and not too worried about getting along with her parents – until, that is, a little incident with a teacup which takes him to an unexpected place. All is not what it seems and the danger here goes beyond the physical. Though he will still need to run and fight in order to follow that titular advice, there are also psychological and emotional hurdles to be overcome in a film that blends black comedy with sharp social observation.
Down Terrace, 2am, Film4, Saturday
Kitchen sink drama in the Ken Loach mode is married to psychotic violence and some blackly comic humour in Ben Wheatley's debut. There's suspicion brewing in suburbia as drug dealer Karl and his Dad Big Bill (played by cow-writer Robin Hill and his real-life father Robert), back home after a stretch in jail, contemplate who grassed them up under the watchful eye of matriarch Maggie (Julia Deakin). Absurdity is pushed to the max when visitors start to arrive, including Karl's pregnant ex (Hill's real-life wife Kerry Peacock) and a hitman (Michael Smiley) with his three-year-old kid in tow. Claustrophobic and cutting but also surprisingly funny.
The Mitchells Vs The Machines, 7.30am, ITV, Saturday, March 29
If you’re looking for something to entertain the kids while not boring the pants of the rest of the family, this animation should fit the bill. It mixes a good splash of nostalgia with the futuristic to tell a tale of a family who find themselves caught up in a robot apocalypse. Film nerd Katie (Abbie Jackson), who is the family’s eldest daughter, leads us into the tale as her technophobic dad (Danny McBride) plans a road trip of reconnection for the family just as their Alexa-style helper PAL (Olivia Colman) goes rogue. Once the action starts there’s barely a moment to breathe as the family try to stay one step ahead of their technologically driven adversaries. While making a point about the increasing encroachment of technology in every area of our lives this is, at heart, a film about the importance of family - but its fuzzy message is delivered with plenty of laughs.
Our short of the week is Meryam Joobeur's Brotherhood. The Tunisian-American director went on to make her first feature - well worth looking out for - Who Do I Belong To, last year.
