(Fantasy, Steven Spielberg, 2016) The King of the blockbusters turned RoaldDahl’s famous children’s book The BFG ( The BFG ) from 1982, a gentle,fairytale-like film. The Spielberg-Dahl tandem is correct: both know how tomake ordinary people, in whom the viewer can easily move, come into their ownin exciting situations. With one difference: where Dahl dares to make childrenshudder more, Spielberg wants to make them feel. Orphan girl Sophie catchesthe Big Friendly Giant literally breathing dreams into children, and whatfollows is history.
Ruby Barnhill in Steven Spielberg’s The BFG
The Tourist
NPO 3, 8.22 pm
In the latest double episode of The Tourist The amnesiac protagonist (JamieDornan) hopes to finally get answers to all questions about his identity.There is still a lot to do before that happens. Helen (Danielle Macdonald)receives new information and sets out to investigate, risking her own life.Meanwhile, the protagonist has an unpleasant encounter with an oldacquaintance. The whimsical thriller series The Tourist was a huge successfor the BBC. Season two is on order, but the cast is yet to be announced.
Along the coast
NPO 2, 8.45 pm
In order to continue their journey along the Dutch coast in Friesland, HuubStapel and Martin Hendriksma first have to cross the 32 kilometer longAfsluitdijk. That turns out to be quite a task for the gentlemen, whofortunately get a lift from a number of eel fishermen. These tell about theconsequences of the construction of the Afsluitdijk for local fisheries. Whenthe salty Zuiderzee became the sweet IJsselmeer, the fish stock changeddrastically. Johan Pollema shows his large collection of photos, maps andprints of the Afsluitdijk in Zurich, Friesland.
Being the Queen
National Geographic, 10 p.m.
National Geographic made the beautiful biography two years ago Being theQueen about the recently deceased Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain. In thefilm, director Tom Jennings combines never-before-seen interviews and footageof the Queen with testimonies from dozens of people who knew her personally,including Prince Philip’s private secretary. The documentary highlightsrelationships within the royal family, reflecting on the most difficultmoments and decisions from Elizabeth II’s long reign.
My father is a plane
NPO 3, 22.27 o’clock
(Drama, Antoinette Beumer, 2021) The bunch of roses brought along fallsdramatically to the ground when Eva, on a visit to a psychiatric institution,is confronted with her father’s blank stare. With a penchant for grandgestures, Beumer filmed her well-received debut novel My father is a plane(2018), about a busy woman who peels off a family trauma layer by layer. EliseSchaap plays a convincing Eva, who slowly succumbs to the pressure of anambitious modern life, navigating between motherhood, an extensive advertisingjob and an extramarital affair. Then her mother suddenly drops dead and Evacollapses. The imagination of Eva’s estrangement is sometimes powerful, PierreBokma is strong like Eva’s father.
2Doc: Human Nature
NPO 2, 11.49 pm
With a technique called Crispr, scientists can quickly and effectively makechanges to genetic material. In the documentary Human Nature researchersexplain how the technique works and what the possibilities are, such as thecure for serious hereditary diseases and the treatment of cancer. It is alsopossible to intervene in the germline with Crispr, with which hereditaryproperties are passed on to the offspring. In this way, diseases can beeradicated for good, which naturally also raises ethical questions.
Jusqu’a la garde
Canvas, 12:05 a.m.
(Xavier Legrand, 2017) Julien (12) and Joséphine (17) want nothing more to dowith their abusive father, their mother claims. Nonsense, protests her soon-to-be ex; he would never harm them. How do you determine, as a judge, what isbest for the children? By letting the viewer watch with the judge in theopening scene, debutant Legrand forces you to think about such matters. Thenthe judge disappears forever from the plot: only we get the far-reachingconsequences of her sentence in this cinematic stranglehold.