Rumours — Rent or buy Apple TV+
Canadian surrealist Guy Maddin and co-director Evan Johnson take satirical aim at world leaders in this genre-mashing rollercoaster ride that combines elements of dark comedy, eerie horror and soap opera melodrama.
Cate Blanchett leads a strong cast that includes Charles Dance, Roy Dupuis and Nikki Amuka-Bird. They play various global leaders gathered for a Group of Seven (G7) summit where they furiously and with increasing levels of panic attempt to draft a statement to deal with a pressing but unidentified global crisis. As night falls they realise they’re alone. In an increasingly surreal set of circumstances the façade slips, and they’re soon revealed to be a hopeless bunch of incompetent children unable to stop the world from burning.
Sally — Disney Plus
When Sally Ride became the first American woman to journey to space in 1983, she was celebrated as a global symbol of freedom against the backdrop of the ideological battle of the Cold War. Though Ride welcomed the attention and leant into her symbolic significance, behind her achievement lay a deeper, sadder secret that she kept hidden from the public until her death in 2012. Director Cristina Costantini unravels that story through archives and an extensive interview with Ride’s childhood friend and life partner, Tam O’Shaughnessy, who was forced to keep her love for Ride secret.
Grenfell: Uncovered — Netflix
The fire that broke out on June 14 2017 in the London block of flats called Grenfell Tower shocked the UK and the world. The fire claimed the lives of 72 people and became the worst residential disaster in UK history since the Blitz of World War 2. Director Olaide Sadiq’s heartbreaking documentary retells the tragedy through interviews with the families of the victims, residents who escaped and experts to show how the circumstances that led to it were preventable and the result of years of negligence and corner cutting.
A Kind of Madness — Prime Video
Veteran SA actors Sandra Prinsloo and Ian Roberts star in director Christiaan Olwagen’s moving drama about a husband who kidnaps his dementia-suffering wife from a care facility to take her on a last road trip as a brief reminder of freedom, hope, and the highs and lows of her past. Their children and the authorities are in hot pursuit.
The Waterfront — Netflix
Dawson’s Creek creator Kevin Williamson turns his sights on North Carolina in this series. Holt McCallany and Melissa Benoist are the struggling leaders of a family fishing business facing challenges from all sides. They fight the outside world and each other as they try to survive and keep their legacy alive.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.