then all the big still play for. then all the big events— still play for. then all the big events in_ still play for. then all the big events in america. the cycle—cross world championships have been taking place this weekend in belgium, british rider tom pidcock was talking up his chances yesterday navigating the beaches and mud along the flanders coast, the 21 year old from leeds won silver last year and was looking good for the podium with with two laps to go, but slipped to fourth by the finish in ostend. dutchman mathieu van der poel recovered from an early crash to overhaul beglium's wout van art to claim his fourth world title. that's all from sportsday. our top story is liverpool winning in the last few minutes, and there is renewed calls to clamp down on

online racist abuse against footballers. next up, the film review. that is it from us. hello, and welcome to the film review with me, mark kermode — reminding you that, while cinemas may be closed, there is still plenty of new movies to enjoy in the comfort and safety of your own home. the most mainstream release this week is the dig, a bittersweet real—life drama about the unearthing

of the sutton hoo treasures on the the eve of world war ii. what are they? would you hazard a guess? burial mounds, i'd expect. we're standing in somebody's graveyard i reckon. viking. maybe older. apparently local girls used to lie down on them in the hope of falling pregnant. i've heard plenty of legends. is that why you want to dig, mrs pretty? tales of buried treasure? ralph fiennes stars as basil brown, the self—taught archaeologist who wears his immense learning lightly and who is enlisted 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, isn't that what you always say? something like that. adapted by screenwriter at moira buffini from the historical novel byjohn preston, the dig is 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 finds 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's 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 conceits. but arriving as it unfortunately does in the wake

of chris nolan's mega—budget head—scrambler, 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's 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 filmmakers. altogether more celebrated is beginning, a haunting georgian—french co—production written and directed by dea kulumbegashvili, which has won numerous international 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 of jana, 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 therei 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, no—one 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 on the documentary front is assassins, a film about the murder of kimjong—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 tale with an 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 day will dissolve that, it is profound but... i get it, bruh, you're

a guy in a relationship. hello, sunday has brought us a day of mixed fortunes in terms of the weather. there's been sunshine for the northern and eastern parts of the northern and eastern parts of the uk. towards the west, cloudy skies. but for most areas that precipitation is largely easing away. so a lot of dry weather. cloudy to the south, clear to the north, and it is here where temperatures will fall lowest. quite a cold, icy start in northern england and scotland. wintry flurries coming in from north and eastern scotland through the day. low pressure clearing away from the south. try especially in wales and south—western england, but still fairly cloudy. best of the sunshine for northern england and scotland. still snow flurries here in the

east. still rather chilly, with temperatures around nine celsius. goodbye for now.

this is bbc news. the headlines at 7... the number of coronavirus jabs hits a daily record of nearly 600,000, but there's a fresh warning from medics on easing the lockdown. any releases that we have will have to happen very slowly, very cautiously, watching and waiting as we go. captain sir tom moore, the second world war veteran who raised millions of pounds for the nhs, is in hospital with covid—i9. manchester united player marcus rashford says he's been subjected to "humanity and social media at its worst" after receiving racist abuse on saturday. reports that more than 4,000 people have been arrested in russia as protests take place in support ofjailed opposition leader alexei navalny. i wanted freedom for our country.

the situation now is the worst, i think, in the last ten years.