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11:35 AM HBO Signature
Flor de Fango (2011 MEX): Or, in English, Mud Flower, which is a less musical but slightly more intriguing title for Anglophones. Whatever you call it, it’s the somewhat disturbing tale of Augusto (Odiseo Bichir, brother of Damien), a middle-aged dude who gets the hots for a teenage girl (Claudia Zepeda) he meets in tragic circumstances at a hospital. Though this is not an exploitation film, it’s one designed to make viewers of all ages deeply uncomfortable with their attitudes toward sexual objectification. Approach with courage and caution.

5:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
The Loves of Pharoah (1922 GER): Now here’s the film of the week, the month, and quite possibly the year. Until recently considered lost, Ernst Lubitsch’s The Loves of Pharoah was painstakingly reconstructed by Germany’s Alpha-Omega Digital. Although some footage is still missing, this is likely as close to a complete print as we’ll ever get, and until now was only available as an expensive PAL DVD or at silent film festivals. Is the film good? I haven’t seen it yet, but that’s entirely beside the point: this is a significant film by an important director starring Germany’s greatest actor (Emil Jannings), and should be considered essential viewing.

11:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Below the Belt (1980 USA): Pro wrestling fans will get a big (figurative) kick from this seldom seen feature, here making its widescreen television debut. Otherwise unknown Regina Baff plays Big Apple waitress Rosa, who decides to live the dream, hang up her apron, and climb into the squared circle. She’s surprisingly good, and gets able support from better known thesps Dolph Sweet, Shirley Stoler, and James Gammon. Interestingly, Below the Belt was filmed in 1974 but not released until 1980! It’s followed at 12:45 AM on 12/8 by …All the Marbles (1981), another tale of life on the female wrestling circuit.

Saturday 12/8/12

5:00 PM Showtime
War Horse (2011 USA-IND): I enjoyed this World War I epic, but it paled in comparison to the London stage production which I’d managed to catch the previous summer. As usual with Spielberg films, there’s a touch too much treacle in War Horse, but there’s lots of good stuff, too, including excellent action sequences and a superb cast (including a particularly good turn by TiVoPlex fave Eddie Marsan). Do keep your hanky handy, however. Also airs at 8:00 PM and throughout the month.

Sunday 12/9/12

11:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
L’Amore (1948 ITA): Directed by Roberto Rossellini with a screenplay by Federico Fellini based on a play by Jean Cocteau and starring Anna Magnani, L’Amore could hardly have a more impressive list of names attached to it - but here’s one more anyway. Claude Renoir was the cinematographer! In addition to all that, the film was banned in numerous territories (including the UK) for its depiction of a drunken sot who thinks he’s a saint (Fellini), his brief fling with a woman who should know better (Magnani), and their child (Jesus Christ). Yeah, that’ll piss off the Vatican. Of course, a few years later Rossellini was earning church plaudits for his much less profane Flowers of St Francis. Unsurprisingly, I prefer this film to that one.

Monday 12/10/12

3:35 AM Starz
A Separation (2011 IRA): Ladies and gentlemen, your Academy Award winning Best Foreign Film of 2012. And it’s from Iran! Of course, Iran has gifted us with dozens of superb films since the Islamic Revolution, but with conservatives cracking down harder than ever on artistic expression it may be a long time before the country wins another Oscar. Written and directed by Asghar Farhadi (About Elly), A Separation tells the story of middle-class couple Nader and Simin (Payman Maadi and Leila Hatami), who are torn between staying in Tehran to care for a sick relative or upping sticks for a new life abroad, where they hope daughter Termeh (Sarina ‘daughter of Asghar’ Farhadi) will have more opportunities. That’s only the beginning, as the film takes numerous unexpected turns before reaching its courtroom climax. Like most modern Iranian films, A Separation doesn’t directly challenge its country’s political and religious orthodoxies, but much is concealed beneath the surface. Also airs at 6:35 AM.

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