Pick of the week
Sound of Metal
Is deafness a disability? That’s the question facing rock drummer and recovering addict Ruben (the rightly Oscar-nominated Riz Ahmed) in Darius Marder’s thought-provoking drama. When he suddenly loses his hearing mid-tour, an angry, scared Ruben is persuaded by his bandmate and partner Lou (Olivia Cooke) to stay at a rural deaf community to try to find answers. There, under the wing of the group’s patient leader Joe (Paul Raci), he sees a possible future – but with cochlear implant surgery offering the return of some sound, he struggles with his life-changing diagnosis. Ahmed draws you in to his character’s painful progress in a story that revolves round sound – and its absence. Simon Wardell
Sunday, 10.30pm, BBC Two
* * *
Good Grief
Marc (Daniel Levy) has spent a year grieving the death in a car crash of his author husband Oliver (Luke Evans), helped out by his best mates, the peppy Sophie (a superb Ruth Negga) and Himesh Patel’s more downbeat Thomas. However, revelations about Oliver’s life leave Marc scrabbling to make sense of his marriage – with a trip to the archetypically romantic city of Paris focusing his feelings. Schitt’s Creek alumnus Levy’s debut as writer-director begins as a three-hankie weepie but evolves into a subtler tale of sadness and betrayal, laced with humour. SW
Out now, Netflix
* * *
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
The monolithic joys of Monument Valley and star John Wayne are on full display in John Ford’s mature western. It’s a move away from the reductive “cowboys and Indians” template, giving depth to the cavalry’s ostensible enemies. Wayne’s captain Nathan Brittles is six days away from retirement when news of the defeat of Custer at Little Big Horn puts his fort on high alert. Using all his experience, Brittles manages his young troops and his commander’s wife and niece while avoiding sparking a pitched battle with Native American warriors. SW
Sat, 1pm, BBC Two
* * *
Tremors
The regrettable sequels (six plus a TV spin-off) shouldn’t detract from the simple pleasures of this 1990 comedy horror. In what is basically a classic western plotline, a group of people find themselves trapped in a Nevada desert town – though here it’s giant, subterranean worms assailing them. Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward are the odd-job men who realise that anyone who walks on the bare earth triggers the creatures to attack. Luckily, there’s a geology student and a survivalist couple among their motley crew to offer solutions. SW
Sat, 9pm, Comedy Central
* * *
Parallel Mothers
Pedro Almodóvar’s 2021 twisty Spanish drama explores family secrets in the domestic and national spheres and features a standout performance from Penélope Cruz. She plays photographer Janis, who gets pregnant by a forensic anthropologist investigating the forgotten civil war victims of Franco – including her ancestors. When her newborn gets swapped with that of the young Ana (Milena Smit), fate intertwines their lives. The political subplot deserves more space but it’s still a forceful experience. SW
Sat 9pm, BBC Four
* * *
While We Watched
In the year of an Indian election, this exemplary documentary from Vinay Shukla is a sobering reminder of how Narendra Modi’s time as prime minister has seen a reduction in democratic freedoms. Shukla’s focus is on Ravish Kumar, a veteran campaigning journalist on the independent news channel NDTV. His attempts to counteract a rise in nationalist propaganda in the media lead him to be branded a “traitor”, and death threats and the owners’ financial straits hamper his ability to do his job. Chilling and enraging, with plenty to ponder in relation to the UK’s own political discourse. SW
Sun, 12.30am, Channel 4
* * *
The Eyes of Orson Welles
These days, it’s hard to find a new angle on the heavily dissected career of film and theatre genius Orson Welles but, in this free-ranging documentary essay, Mark Cousins has managed to tease one out. Basing his profile on the Citizen Kane director’s own drawings and paintings, Cousins aims for a “sketchbook” of Welles’s life, using his own ability to capture an arresting image to pin down how Welles saw and what interested him. It’s an ambitious and personal take, but it will draw you back to his films and make you see them afresh. SW
Thu, 11.40pm, BBC Four
