Square Eyes

Television Reviews

Movie of the week, The Hearts of Men, SBS, Sat, 9.30pm:

Four French blokes have been mates for 20 years, gathering regularly to talk footy, and about their love lives. One is in an easygoing, convenient relationship, another longs for love, one is always having affairs and the other loves his wife but can't forgive her for her brief fling. It's a beautifully rendered tale of human frailty, the paradoxes of men and how they can be every bit as contradictory as women.

Red Cap, ABC, Fri, 8.30pm:

Spunky Tamzin Outhwaite is a ripper has Sgt Jo McDonagh, a military copper, in this second series. She's still a chick battling a bloke's army, while trying to get to the bottom of a triple murder in Bosnia. It's a gripping whodunit.

The Way We Were, ABC, Sat, 9.30pm:

Mark (Bob Downe) Trevorrow gets all nostalgic for this pop culture series, which kicks off with 50 years of kids TV. It's part comedy, part cabaret and part serious exploration of issues and influences.

Feeling Sexy, SBS, Sun, 9.30pm:

Queensland artist Davida Allen wrote this short, fiery romantic comedy about a bored, taken-for-granted housewife who spices up her life with a brief affair. Susie Porter is brilliant as the woman struggling to find her own voice. There's a slowly dawning, sweet redemption which makes it all so satisfying and thoughtful.

Castaway, NBN, Sun, 8.30pm:

Forrest Gump visits Gilligan's Island, with courier Tom Hanks surviving a plane crash to end up talking to a volley ball on a desert island. It's a tedious struggle to escape, charted mainly by his increasingly straggly beard.

The Riddle of the Bradshaws, SBS, Sun, 9.30pm:

Enthusiast Grahame Walsh has spent 25 years trying to unravel the mystery of these Kimberley region rock paintings. He reckons they're pre-Aboriginal, which fires the controversy of this obsessive doco.

The Beautiful Game, SBS, Mon, 8.30pm:

The Greeks have waited a long time to rule the world again, but their Euro 2004 win has convinced them it's true. Meanwhile, this four-part investigation into soccer explores everything from doping to dodgy deals and finances, unscrupulous hangers-on and supremo Sepp Blatter. It all seems to run like a Mafia, believing the game is above the law. With footy fans a powerful voice, pollies are reluctant to tackle the endless list of abuses lest an angry crowd turns on them.

Secrets of the Jury Room, SBS, Thurs, 8.30pm:

The Azaria Chamberlain case took another bizarre twist this week when a Melbourne bloke claimed he shot the dingo responsible. Author and barrister John Bryson was equally stunned when a jury ignored the facts to convict Lindy Chamberlain. He wrote Evil Angels and came up with this fictional fly-on-the-wall view of a jury's deliberations. It's fascinating and surprising.