ralph fiennes stars as basil brown, the self—taught archaeologist who wears his immense learning lightly and who is enlisted by carrie mulligan�*s wealthy widow, edith pretty, to excavate ——by carey mulligan�*s wealthy widow, edith pretty, to excavate the imposing burial mounds on her property. "my interest in archaeology began like yours," edith tells the initially sceptical basil, "when i was scarcely old enough to hold a trowel." and so begins an unlikely friendship between two very different people, both of whom believe the past speaks. the line thatjoins them to their forebears, is that what you will say? something like that. adapted by screenwriter at moira buffini from the historical novel byjohn preston, the dig is an extremely likeable fare, beautifully lensed by cinematographer mike eley, who captures the lonely landscape and the darkening skies of the drama. would you have dinner with me?

yes. fiennes and mulligan are perfectly cast in the lead roles and there's strong support from the likes of monica dolan, ken stott, and the young archie barnes as edith's son robert, who find solace in his friendship with basil as his mother's health fails. if i have a complaint, it is that the film gets rather sidetracked by a subplot that sees lilyjames�* real—life archaeologist peggy falling forjohnny flynn's fictional airman rory, a distraction that feels as though it has been foregrounded simply to broaden the film's appeal to a younger audience rather than as an organic addendum to the central story. but that aside, this is engaging stuff, boasting a similar melancholic charm tojessica swales�* lovely summer land, one of my favourite films of last year. you can find the dig on netflix now. american filmmakersjustin benson and aaron moorehead are the team behind the 2017 oddity the endless,

a strange little movie about two brothers revisiting the ufo death cult to which they formerly belonged. although made on a comparatively small budget, the endless had eerie atmosphere to spare, offering a genuinely strange and haunting experience. the same cannot be said of their latest, synchronic, another sci—fi inflected mystery adventure with high ambitions but one that doesn't quite hit the mark. jamie dornan and anthony mackie star as paramedics dennis and steve, who start to encounter people who have been driven to death or distraction by the titular drug. yeah, that is a body, not a burn victim. new kid called it in. when dennis�* daughter goes missing, steve, who is facing his own medical crisis, resolves to help his friend with the aid of the mystery drug, which, it transpires, can transport the user to another time.

as with benson and moorehead's previous films, synchronic is brim full of interesting ideas and admirably bonkers dramatic conceit. but arriving as it unfortunately does in the wake of chris nolan's mega—budget head—scrambling tenet, which recently came out on blu—ray, it can start to look like a cheap b movie version of a more celebrated and accomplished a—list film. there is nothing wrong with that per se, but i think the filmmakers had far higher goals, certainly on the basis of their back catalogue. synchronic, which is available now on a range of digital platforms, is fine, although ultimately rather unremarkable, which is unusual for these inventive film—makers.

altogether more celebrated is beginning, a haunting georgian—french co—production written and directed by dea kulumbegashvili, which has won numerous international of streaming service mubi. ——festival awards and now finds its natural home on streaming service mubi. ia sukhitashvili is jana, wife of david, a religious leader in an isolated community ofjehovah�*s witnesses whose place of worship is firebombed in an astonishing opening sequence. it looks like the set—up for a mystery thriller, with david concerned

about tracking down those responsible, but instead the film focuses on the inner life ofjana, who is trapped by her surroundings, misunderstood by her husband, and sexually harassed by a visitor who claims to be a detective but seems to be something altogether more sinister. kulumbegashvili has described jana as somebody who would be a "secondary character in any other film". certainly she gives the impression of being a bit—part player in her own life, robbed of agency or understanding, trapped in somebody else�*s story. shot on 35mm by arseni khachaturan and edited by matthieu taponier, whose credits include the soul—shaking son of saul, beginning, which takes its title from the bible, makes for deeply unsettling and uncomfortable viewing.

some critics have drawn comparison with the films of michael haneke, but to me this is closer to the work of carlos reygadas, whose films i admire but don't actually like, and who here serves as an executive producer. in the end, i'm not entirely sure what to make of beginning, although it has stuck with me, which is always a good sign. you can check it out for yourself on mubi. for a couple years, we have been waiting for answered prayers. i refer to it now as my posthumous novel. writer and withering society wit truman capote�*s two most famous books both spawned acclaimed movies, breakfast at tiffany's and in cold blood. capote himself has also been the subject of the couple of biopics, the 2005 film capote for which philip seymour hoffman won an oscar, and 2006's perhaps less—lauded infamous, for which tobyjones deserved awards recognition. now in the documentary the capote tapes, we hear interviews

conducted by george plimpton with the writer's friends and enemies along with a collage of talking heads and home movie footage to build a portrait of the real capote. he was writing these thinly veiled stories about people he knew and he basically told all their secrets. the response was, how could your friend do this to you? he must've known therel was danger in all of that. dick cavett, norman mailer and lauren bacall are among those remembering the writer who said of his famously unpublished book answered prayers "either i'm going to kill it or it's going to kill me." a thinly veiled expose of his high—society friends, the book, which he claimed to be working on for decades, surfaced only in magazine extracts that alienated his posh cohort and also suggested that

the finished work might not be the "proust in the age of warhol" masterpiece that everybody was waiting for. the depressing truth is that after in cold blood in the mid 60s, capote did little of note other than appear on chat shows and hang out with rich celebrities at studio 5a. as this documentary makes clear, noone knows whether a finished manuscript of answered prayers exists. and even if it did, would anyone care? the capote tapes is available now at altitude.film and on other digital platforms. kim jong—nam has been assassinated. two women have just been arrested in connection with the murder. altogether more riveting of the documentary front is assassins, a film about the murder of kim jong—un's half—brother, kimjong—nam, by two young women who later claimed they thought they were taking part in a harmless video prank show. yes, really.

caught on camera smearing a deadly chemical on the kim jong—nam's face at kuala lumpur airport, the women, one vietnamese and one indonesian, were arrested and tried for murder. meanwhile, a group of north koreans who had apparently masterminded the killing, widely believed to have been ordered by kimjong—un, returned home safely. by turns jaw—dropping, bewildering and horrifying, assassins leads us through the stranger than fiction tell with impressive array of amusing surveillance footage, with each twist and turn more gobsmacking than the last. the story really does beggar belief,

but in the hands of director ryan white, it becomes a chillingly credible thriller. all the more gripping because it is actually true. for details of virtual cinema screenings and on—demand info, go to dogwoof.com/assassins. that's it for this week. thanks for watching the film review. stay safe and i will see you next week. doubts, man. they never go away. you think the wedding will dissolve that, it is profound but... i get it, bruh, you're a guy in a relationship. hello. we're in for a cold weekend. there is some sunshine in the forecast but also more rain, sleet and snow. now, this time, the sleet and the snow should mostly fall across the hills. and at the moment, there's a battle between cold air coming in from the north and the milder air trying to spread in from the south. and this is also where we have a weather front,

and that weather front will bring the rain, sleet and the snow on saturday. in fact, we've got a couple of weather fronts heading our way. this is just the first one which is moving across the uk as i speak. so, early in the morning, it's very mild in the south—west of the country, so certainly no snow here. the further north you go, the temperatures do dip away, so some sleet and snow across the welsh hills. and then north of that, early on saturday morning, with the clear skies across the far north of england and scotland, there's a sharp frost. so, that sharp frost and clear skies in the morning across scotland and the far north of england. to the south of that, the cloudier weather, outbreaks of rain, sleet and snow. to the south coast, i think, here, it is going to be far too mild for any wintry weather. temperatures, for example, in plymouth will be around 10 degrees. but as the day wears on, some of that rain may turn to sleet and maybe some wet snow across other cities of the south away from the southern counties. now, through the night,

saturday night into sunday, the skies will clear. so, with that wet day, it is going to turn icy early in the morning on sunday, as temperatures dip away to freezing or below across many parts of the uk, and another very cold night there in scotland. now, i mentioned two weather fronts, one on saturday. this is the next one paying us a visit on sunday. now, remember, it's a very chilly morning on sunday, the weather front is coming in, it's sub—zero here, at least for a time, so some of this weather will be snowy. sleet and snow certainly across the welsh hills, but there is a possibility of some wintry weather spreading to other parts of the country as well, not in the north and the north—east. here, i think we're in for some sunshine. and it is going to be chilly wherever you are. but the chilly weather isn't going to last for very long, particularly in the south. i think by the time we get to monday, tuesday and wednesday, for example, in the south, temperatures will be back into double figures. bye— bye.

this is bbc news, i'm lewis vaughanjones. our top stories: the eu backs down from using emergency brexit measures to restrict the movement of vaccines to northern ireland — their plan sparked outrage in london and belfast. whiteman but the eus vaccine shortfall sees them force pharmaceutical firms to get permission before exporting european—madejabs. playing the professionals for billions — amateur investors continue targeting fund managers with frenzied trading in us firm gamestop. and something new to watch in lockdown — social distancing in new york city sends the popularity of birdwatching sky high.