Square Eyes

Television Reviews

Movie of the week, Buena Vista Social Club, SBS, Sun, 9.30pm

This doco movie is as much for music buffs as Wim Wenders fans. The director details the recording of Ry Cooder's Grammy-winning album featuring aging but legendary Cuban musicians who recreate the jazz of the pre-Castro era. Cigar-chewing, dapper Compay Segundo, 92, in his snappy suit, has a teenager's zest for life. His equally colourful fellow musicians are a little surprised, but equally delighted to go from obscurity to the world stage. Wenders blends their nostalgic stories into a touching, energetic tale, driven by the wonderful music, that also captures the tatty edges of Castro's Cuba.

Seabiscuit, SBS, Fri, 8.30pm

An inspiring American Depression story about two losers who win big time. Seabiscuit was a stumpy nag that looked set for the knackery until it was teamed with one-eyed jockey-cum-boxer Red Pollard. In 1937, they took the racetrack by storm, winning everywhere and lifting a quickly obsessed nation out of its doldrums. This is a ripper yarn.

The Drovers Dream, SBS, Sun, 8.30pm

Helen McCarthy, 64, is a drover who's been on the road with her herd (who all have names), dogs, goat and donkey for the past eight years after losing her farm to the bank. Her struggle with the drought is gut-wrenching and the ending heartbreaking. Watch it to understand just how bloody tough and cruel life on the land can be.

What Women Want, NBN, Sun, 8.30pm

Mel Gibson plays a chauvinistic pig of an ad exec (is there any other kind?) who suddenly finds he can read women's minds after an accident. So he uses it to undermine his boss (Helen Hunt) and seduce a girl at the local café (Marisa Tomei). But suddenly, he starts to empathise, and worse, fall for his boss just as his deviousness pays off. It's a decent, if half-baked comedy, with Mel agreeably mugging things for all they're worth.

The Real Captain Bligh, ABC, Sun, 8.30pm

This doco argues the Bounty captain's reputation was much maligned. A brilliant navigator, cartographer and pioneer of ethnographic research, Bligh was master aboard Cook's ship when he was killed in Hawaii. His survival after the mutiny was also a remarkable feat.

Compass: Islam Unveiled, ABC, Sun, 9.50pm

An English Muslim journalist, Samira Ahmed, ponders the rising fundamentalism and misogyny in her religion. Tackling some crucial issues facing Islam, she visits a number of Muslim heartlands to explore women's lives under the Koran and whether ancient Islamic values can ever be reconciled with liberal Western values. It's a powerful analysis.

The Melbourne Cup, Ten, Tues, 3.10pm

For 3200 metres, a nation suddenly ponders the fate of next week's dog food, betting a third world's debt in the process. C'mon Makybe Diva!

Dying to Leave, SBS, Tues, 8.30pm

Aussie doco-maker Chris Hilton explores the shadowy world of illegal migration. If not locked up by governments, many refugees end up in bondage as prostitutes or sweatshop workers. It's a grim story, given a human face, and a broader historical context, making it way too true and human for election campaign clichés.