My Father’s Shadow of Hamlet: The Week in Enthusiastic Reviews | culture

television

If you only watch one, do it…

Lover, liar, predator

BBC iPlayer

Summarize in a sentence The story of four women, all abused by the same man when they were teenagers, who band together to help imprison him.
What our reviewer said “Not to mention teenagers – I would love to put a collection of films like this together and send one to every school in the country.” Lucy Mangan

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Michael Jackson: The Trial

Channel 4

Summarize in a sentence A disturbing documentary depicting the events surrounding Jackson’s 2005 trial for molesting 13-year-old Gavin Arvizo (of which he was found not guilty) – and featuring newly released tapes of Jackson.
What our reviewer said “Where the latest Channel 4 series triumphs is in bringing together narratives from both sides, allowing you to determine what is most plausible, as well as highlighting details that cannot be easily explained.” Hannah J. Davis

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Further reading Michael Jackson has detailed his thoughts about children in a never-before-heard audio clip

Magnificent funeral parlor

Channel 4

Summarize in a sentence A brilliant and poignant documentary that follows a charming funeral director trying to shake up the death industry.
What our reviewer said “The documentary’s lightness and camp are punctuated by tears, and it does a good job with the heavy lifting of conveying grief.” Micah Fraser Carroll

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Finding Harmony: King’s Vision

Prime Video

Summarize in a sentence A documentary that allows Charles to explain how he has been attacking the climate crisis for years.
What our reviewer said “Twenty years ago, a film with this level of reach could have been broadcast by a British monarch on a terrestrial channel, and people would have watched it in their millions.” Stuart Heritage

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Maybe she was gone…

What is the purpose of the monarchy?

BBC iPlayer

Summarize in a sentence David Dimbleby, not broadcasting on the BBC, presents an entertaining show of trashing the royal family.
What our reviewer said Dimbleby moves his knife slowly. Jack Seale

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film

If you only watch one, do it…

My father’s shadow

In cinemas now

Summarize in a sentence British-Nigerian director Akinola Davies Jr. makes his directorial debut with a coming-of-age story set in 1990s Nigeria about an absent father who briefly reunites with his two young sons.
What our reviewer said “Is absence the same thing as love? It is a haunting and heartbreaking unanswered question that dominates the tone of this intriguing film. It is a rich, enlightening and enlightening film.” Peter Bradshaw

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Further reading Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù: “If the West doesn’t say a movie is good, that doesn’t mean it’s not good.”

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village

In cinemas now

Summarize in a sentence Riz Ahmed plays the tortured prince in a smart and stark retelling of Shakespeare’s tragedy, set in the world of a shady family business.
What our reviewer said “It’s a very difficult read, and by the way, at the moment, there is nothing further from the richly sympathetic and redemptive approach of Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet to the imagined origins of the play.” Peter Bradshaw

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Andre is an idiot

In cinemas now

Summarize in a sentence A funny and honest documentary featuring former advertising executive Andre Ricciardi and his cancer diagnosis, in a candid take on how to say goodbye.
What our reviewer said “Ricciardi, a naturally funny man, is well aware that he uses humor as a defense. The film follows suit, even going so far as to create funny little stop-motion animation scenes showing a young Andre in all his disheveled glory, wearing sneakers and a hospital gown, enduring various treatments.” Leslie Felperin

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Further reading ‘It Was a Little Scary Sometimes’: The funny and heartbreaking film about the death of a troublemaker

Twinless

Out now

Summarize in a sentence A dark and inventive comedy from writer-director James Sweeney, set between two men who bond over the recent death of their twins.
What our reviewer said “Sweeney has fooled us with the packaging, the twisted setting that hides something strange and far more compelling. It’s a rug-pulling operation delivered with such confidence and elegance.” Benjamin Lee

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Streaming now

Relationship goals

Prime Video

Summarize in a sentence Kelly Rowland and Method Man star in a fast-paced romantic comedy about TV producers who compete for a job and fall for each other at the same time.
What our reviewer said “The promise of one of Destiny’s kids playing will they or won’t play with a large Wu-Tang Clan group can be a very strong temptation to keep hits that grew up on their music from clicking on their Prime Video thumbnail out of nostalgic curiosity.” Andrew Lawrence

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books

If you only read one, do it.

The Color of the House by Sajid Javid

Reviewed by Hanif Qureshi

Summarize in a sentence The former Home Secretary talks about confronting racism in Britain in the 1970s.
What our reviewer said “The memoir’s argument about merit is more nuanced than Javid’s political slogans ever were.”

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Further reading Sajid Javid talks about being beaten by his father, a small crime – and changing his life