yeah, i heard you can read. have you ever seen a computer? yes, sir. actually we have many of them in the village, with the codes. very advanced to use computers. i could tell from their faces i had made a mistake. actor—musician adarsh gourav is terrific as balram, the narrator who hitches his fortunes to rajkummar rao�*s ashok, a young gun recently returned from america with his bride pinky, played by priyanka chopra. you are the new india, balram. i am the new india, sir. having been raised to serve, balram does everything he can for his master, including taking the rap for a drunken accident in which he played no part. but when his dedication is thrown back in his face, balram resolves to become like the famed titular beast, a creature born only once every generation. over the next weeks, i learned the ways drivers cheat their masters.

# i want to break free...# having returned time and again to the subject of inequality right from his debut feature man push cart, bahrani is at the top of his game with this darkly satirical and stylistically adventurous modern fable, a film that shares some of parasite, while taking cheeky swipes at danny boyle's slumdog millionaire. this is not a story in which problems can be solved by a game show. with acclaimed film—maker ava duvernay as an executive producer, the white tiger is terrifically engaging fare, bristling with sardonic energy perfectly captured by the smile on gourav�*s face, which simultaneously seems to imply compliance, self—loathing and seething rage. a potent cocktail indeed. you can catch it now on netflix.

from modern india to world war ii—era europe for persian lessons, a gripping melodrama that was going to be belarus's entry for this year's best international feature oscar, but which was pulled at the last moment amid reports that it didn't meet the academy's strict eligibility requirements. nahuel perez biscayart, who made such an impact in 120 bpm, carries the weight of the film as a jewish prisoner who escapes execution by pretending to be persian and then finds himself having to teach farsi, a language he does not speak, to nazi camp commandant klaus, played by lars eidinger. what follows is a linguistic game of cat and mouse in which our antihero must not only invent but also remember

hundreds, thousands of words, words dreamed up through association with the individual prisoners who pass through this hellish environment. although declared as being inspired by a true story, persian lessons feels like a theatrical conceit, a tense two—hander that happens to be playing out against the backdrop of the darkest chapter of human history. but for all its air of artifice, the film does pack an emotional punch, thanks in no small measure to two nuanced central performances which elevate the entire venture. it's available on digital platforms now and on dvd from 8 february. on now to a film dealing with the altogether more contemporary anguish of the coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed the lives

of more than 2 million people worldwide. in the documentary 76 days, the story of the wuhan lockdown in early 2020 is captured in arresting front—line detail, much of it on cameras inside the wuhan red cross medical centre. there are shades of the aleppo documentary for sama in the sight of doctors working in what are effectively battlefield conditions, struggling to keep up with the human cost of this unfolding tragedy. we hear stories of people waking up next to dead relatives. we see a woman giving birth whose husband cannot be with her and whose baby must immediately be taken away. and we watch as phone calls are made to friends and family of the dead.

at times it all resembles a prophetic microcosm of everything that was to come. from the elderly gentleman who wanders the corridors insisting he's not ill to the isolation that leaves facetime as the only personal contact, the toll the virus takes on the aged and those suffering from dementia, and the heroism of the medical workers who see only an opportunity to do the right thing and feel the weight of being unable to save so many. credited to three film—makers, one of whom prefers to remain anonymous, this is harrowing fare. although amid the romero—style visions of hazmat suits and rapidly rising infections, it's the sheer selfless determination of those exhausted doctors and nurses that provides the beating heart of this urgent and alarming film. if you're in need of something in an altogether lighter vein, then baby done might do the trick. are you two having kids? cos seriously it is the best thing i've ever done. you haven't even had the baby yet. you should have a baby|

at the same time as us. yeah. have a baby. you know what, i think we will now. what do you reckon? yeah, yeah. let's do it. right now. right now? right now. yeah. executive produced by taika waititi, who inexplicably struck oscar gold last year withjojo rabbit, this new zealand reproductive comedy stars rose matafeo as zoe, an enthusiastic arborist whose dreams of winning tree—climbing competitions are put on hold by the discovery that she's pregnant. congratulations. tapeworm can cause false positive pregnancy tests. it's not a tapeworm, it's a baby. - her partner tim, played by matthew lewis, immediately goes into full anxious father—to—be mode. but zoe goes the other way, compiling a bucket list of variously dangerous and irresponsible things to do, to the increasing alarm of poor tim. don't write that down, i've got to start now, haven't i?

written by actor turned writer sophie henderson, baby done serves up an uneven mix of bawdy, feisty comedy and formulaic sentimentality that raises a few chuckles, but doesn't quite hit the mark. and there's nothing here, for example, to match the incisive wit and piercing insight of saint frances, which was one of my favourite films of last year. should we get married? no. you nearly got me then, that was good. that said, rose matafeo is an irresistible presence in the central role, and she pretty much manages to keep things on track, even when director curtis vowell�*s flawed film fails to find its feet. it's on digital platforms now. i'll leave you with news of quo vadis, aida?, the bosnia and herzegovina submission for this year's best international feature oscar.

set during the srebrenica massacre of 1995, during which over 8000 muslim men and boys were killed by bosnian—serb forces under the command of war criminal ratko mladic, the film centres onjasna djuricic�*s titular translator, struggling to save her family during an unfolding atrocity to which the world turns a blind eye. it sounds unwatchably tough, but in the hands of writer—directorjasmila zbanic, this horrifying tale is lent a profoundly human heart, ensuring that we keep on watching, a notable achievement for a film that's centrally concerned with the spectre of looking away.

there's a hint of terry george's hotel rwanda in the understated evocation of an approaching holocaust, the sense of something terrible unfolding in full view of a world that does nothing. both films managed to balance the enormity of dreadful historical events with the emotional specificity of a personal story, allowing the audience to engage even as they are appalled and outraged. crucially, zbanic describes her film as portraying the courage, love and resilience of a woman caught in a male game of war, while also providing an awful reminder of what happens if we fail to react on time to warning signs. it's a very powerful and very personal film, available exclusively on curzon home cinema, with the hope of a big—screen release whenever that becomes possible.

that's it for this week. thanks for watching the film review. stay safe, and i'll see you next week. just one more. is that good? no, it's not good. hello there. we are staying firmly in the cold air mass this weekend. so, it means we'll continue to see very cold nights, widespread frost, some ice. but by day, there should be quite a bit of sunshine around. however, there is some snow in the forecast on sunday across southern britain and this could lead to some disruption. stay tuned to the forecast. more on that in just a moment. for saturday we have low pressure to the north, that brings a run of north—westerly winds and feeding in lots of wintry showers. quite breezy across the north—west and less further south. we start off with some showers from the word go across the north—west, a risk of ice, some early mist

and fog clearing from the south and then we'll continue with the showers in western scotland, north—west england, running through the cheshire gap into the midlands, perhaps running into parts of east anglia and the south—east where it will also be cloudier. it will stay brighter with sunshine for the north—east and south—west but it will be a cold day wherever you are. temperatures 2—5 celsius. showers continue on for awhile through saturday evening and central areas, further showers for northern and western scotland and then we turn our attentions to this feature running into wales and the south—west of england during the early part of sunday to bring some rain, sleet, and snow. another very cold night to come for saturday night, subzero values for most and a risk of ice to watch out for. sunday, we look at this feature running into the south west, this weather front which will bring the rain initially and then some snow to wales, south west england, perhaps across into parts of the midlands, southern and south—eastern england as we move through the day. now, there's still some uncertainty but it looks like at this stage we could be looking at some accumulations

of snow to parts of central and southern england, 1—5 cm in places likely to cause disruption. further north it will be brighter with further wintry showers across some western areas but it's going to be another really cold day where we have the lying snow across the south. into next week, it starts off cold monday but then through the week, the milder air starts to spread up from the south—west. it will be turning a lot milder across the board but with that mild moisture—laden air, we will see weather systems pushing in, too, with strong winds. this is pretty bad news after all the rain which we've seen across the north and west of the country. this could cause some issues. monday starts off cold, further wintry showers and gradually turns more unsettled, wetter and milder and windier as we move through the week, perhaps the risk of local flooding in places.

this is bbc news. i'm freya cole. our top stories: president biden warns that the us economic crisis is deepening, as he introduces his $2 trillion relief plan. articles of impeachment against donald trump will be delivered to the senate on monday. his trial begins early next month. new research suggests the uk—variant of covid—i9 may be more deadly than the original virus. and one of the all—time greats of us baseball, hank aaron, dies at the age of 86.

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