hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... more than 2000 people have been arrested across russia during a clampdown on protests called by the jailed opposition leader alexei navaly. mr navalny�*s wife, yulia, was arrested, then released. senior doctors in britain call for the maximum 12—week gap between administering the first and second doses of the pfizer coronavirus vaccination to be halved. a curfew will come into force in the netherlands tonight, as part of new measures to contain coronavirus. residents in wuhan have been marking the first anniversary of the coronavirus lockdown which saw the chinese city sealed off for more than two months. 12 months on and life in wuhan

has returned to normal. the american broadcaster larry king has died at the age of 87. he had been receiving treatment for covid—19 in los angeles. in a career spanning six decades, larry king interviewed many of the world's most famous people. now on bbc news, the film review with mark kermode. hello, and welcome to the film review with me, mark kermode, reminding you that whilst cinemas may be closed due to lockdown, there's still plenty of new movies to be watched in the comfort and safety of your own home.

in the 2014 film 99 homes, writer—director ramin bahrani focused on a single father who'd been evicted from his florida home by an unscrupulous businessman to dramatise the wider economic recession that had sent shockwaves around the world. now in his latest film, the white tiger, adapted from aravind adiga's 2008 man booker prize—winning novel, bahrani investigates a culture of servitude and inequality in modern india as seen through the eyes of a low caste villager who dreams of becoming a successful entrepreneur by making himself indispensable to the rich masters for whom he works. do you know what the internet is? no, sir. but i could drive to the market right now, sir, and get as many as you want. no, it's ok. thank you. do you have facebook? yes, sir, books, i always have books, sir.

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 the anarcho—sociopolitical energy of bong joon—ho's 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 0scar, 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 the 8th of february. 0n 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. that would be so good! 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 0scar gold last year with jojo 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 0scar.

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—director jasmila 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 herfilm 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. do you want to just take a moment and come back later? just one more. is that good? no, it's not good. hello and welcome to sportsday — i'm gavin ramjaun. lots in store this saturday. heartbreak for cheltenham town — a late manchester city fightback puts the league two side out of the fa cup. all the action on the way. a six wicket haul in galle! james anderson stars again for england in the second test against sri lanka. and are elfyn evans's hopes of winning the monte carlo rally slipping away, as he loses the lead?

hello and welcome to sportsday — plenty on the way for you. they were so close, but in the end outclassed by premier league giants. cheltenham town, of league two, conceded three late goals against manchester city. they were leading with ten minutes to go, butjust couldn't hold on to secure what could have been the most famous of fa cup upsets. for 18 used to raising the bar, changing in one would have been a new experience. the surroundings in cheltenham might have been unfamiliar, but manchester city's goal was clear, avoid an upset. chilton and's goal was, as you might expect, busy. —— cheltenham's doll. not always with the goalkeeper, either. they were holding their own, nothing fancy, no fireworks. well,

inside the stadium anyway. pyrotechnics stopped play. maybe just the thing to spark manchester city into life. in the second half jesus beat the keeper but not the post. guardiola's mood was about to get worse. this was not tiki—taka, but it did not matter. 0ne long throw, a couple of ricochets, a moment to ignite at this time. cheltenham lead manchester city! in a town famous for horse racing, what were the odds of this? the sides were the odds of this? the sides were separated. cheltenham needed to last the course for all of city's expensive squad, phil foden drew them level. a tie turned into minutes, when jesus fired them level. a tie turned into minutes, whenjesus fired city ahead. taras added a third in stoppage time to confirm their place in the next round, but not without an almighty fright. they might need

an almighty fright. they might need a stiff drink after this.