WHAT MAKES for a memorable narrative? Our recommendations this week offer a broad spectrum of storytelling. A documentary about lions is just as entertaining as a famous cartoon, and a fictional tale documents drug addiction in graphic detail. From a grittily realistic story to a sultry, surreal flick, the films and TV shows here tell tales in surprising ways.
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (IMDB)
“Lion” (on National Geographic and Disney+)Kio just can’t wait to be king. This documentary chronicles the lion’s life from cub to leader of his pride. In this show, filmed in the Maasai Mara in Kenya over four years, Kio (pictured below, right) and his family fight for survival. “Lion” has, naturally, drawn comparisons to “The Lion King”: the documentary’s narrator, O.J. Lynch, has even played Mufasa on stage. But in this enthralling, true tale, lions do not become friends with warthogs: they feed on them.
“Novak Djokovic: The Wolf in Winter” (on Amazon Prime Video)For most professional sportsmen, success comes with public adoration. Not for Novak Djokovic (below). The Serbian tennis player has won 24 Grand Slam titles and broken umpteen records, but he is regarded as both “a champion and a villain”, notes this documentary. The film traces Mr Djokovic’s extraordinary career, but also examines his volatility, brashness and fellow players’ accusations of gamesmanship. You get an insight into a man who is perhaps tennis’s all-time great.
“Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma” (in cinemas in worldwide)A young film-maker is seeking to reboot a slasher franchise, so she tracks down the star of the original film (played riotously by Gillian Anderson, top right). This movie is a mix of desire and distorted reality. Its strange, shocking twists are not always comfortable, but the film offers a fascinating exploration of how popular culture shapes identity.
“Trainspotting” (on streaming platforms)One of the best British films of the 1990s is back in cinemas this week for its 30th anniversary. The film is based on a novel of the same name by Irvine Welsh—a book one reviewer said deserved to sell more copies than the Bible—and tells the interlaced stories of young drug addicts from Edinburgh. “Trainspotting” made Ewan McGregor a star and showcased the vivid and frenetic style that Danny Boyle, its director, would use in later films such as “Slumdog Millionaire”.
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