Our TV favorites from August 13 to 17

Sunday August 13

The evening devoted to Johnny Depp begins with this film which is thirty years old, but has not aged a bit, and continues with a documentary on the ex-husband of Vanessa Paradis. Gilbert Grape (who plays the actor) is at the center of his family, stuck between Arnie (Leonardo DiCaprio), his mentally handicapped little brother, his two sisters, and his mother who became depressed and obese at the death of her husband. In this small town that seems frozen, a bittersweet life unfolds for Gilbert, until the day Becky (Juliette Lewis) arrives. The script fits perfectly and all the roles are interpreted with accuracy. Leonardo DiCaprio, 19 at the time, was even nominated for the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. And these two hours of cinema pass like the blink of an eye… Delphine Loez

Seven out of ten French people appreciate short tourist stays. One-day tours that cities sometimes suffer, but also try to organize and optimize. Julien Courbet’s teams deliver in this unpublished Capital the fruit of their investigations carried out in Porquerolles, in the Var, Étretat, in Seine-Maritime and the principality of Andorra. Objectives of these municipalities and traders (restaurants, bike and jet-ski rental companies, managers of mini-markets, etc.): attract and retain tourists, make their visit profitable and best manage any additional costs linked to the management of this tourism massive. It then becomes essential, in the summer, to double the number of municipal agents and civic services to monitor walkers, such as pebble thieves in Étretat. Anne-Laure Boveron

Monday August 14

A mixture of “trash” and incongruity, the humor of Gustave Kervern and Benoît Delépine (Holy Love, I Feel Good) has already upset more than one. Clearing the history is no exception to the rule. But, despite a few painful scenes, the director duo has no equal in capturing the spirit of the times in France’s peri-urban areas, capturing the absurdity of the world and the failings of our contemporaries. Because they are victims of blackmail, scam or harassment on the Internet, a trio of citizens (Blanche Gardin, Corinne Masiero, Denis Podalydès), housing estate neighbors, play Don Quixote against the giants of the Web. All things considered, their picaresque adventures will send the viewer back to their own addictions to technological mirage, more conducive to enslaving the user than serving him. Pierre-Olivier Boiton

Tuesday August 15

Curly or straight, colored or salt and pepper, hair reflects our personality, as much as fashions and origins. This new four-episode documentary series broadcast over two evenings is dedicated to the world of hair. Convinced that “the hair tells the story of the world”, Ambre Dupont travels through four countries to meet their inhabitants. With her traveling salon, this journalist converted into an apprentice hairdresser, with contagious good humor, begins her journey in India, where the hair, offered as an offering to their gods by the Hindus, takes on a sacred dimension. Another atmosphere in Rio, where straightening is all the rage. But in Brazil, where half the population is black or afro, more and more women are releasing their curls. “It’s a question of resistance and recognition of our roots,” says a hairdresser from the city of Salvador. Talking cuts loosens the tongues and the confidences exchanged show how much the hair is cultural, even political. The next episodes, in Kenya and South Korea, promise surprising discoveries. Perrine Kempf

Wednesday August 16

This Hour D follows in the footsteps of the nuns of the Cistercian Abbey of Sainte-Marie de Boulaur (Gers). The camera accompanies the sisters, rather young and dynamic, in an important stage of the development of the community which lives from agricultural production. In order to increase their autonomy, they embark on the construction of a new barn. Step by step, from the initial decision to the exploitation of the dairy cows, we follow them in this project. These moments of labor are punctuated by prayer, in a quiet gentleness. This is a happy documentary both in terms of its rhythm and the encounters: the personalities that emerge are immediately endearing. And some smiles continue to warm up, long after the end of the show. Delphine Loez

Thursday August 17

Cuba and its mythical cars! This joyful documentary reveals its presence everywhere in the country, and not only in Havana. In Baracoa, in the east of the island, Diosmar crisscrosses the countryside aboard a Chevrolet dating from 1947 and counting more than a million kilometers on the odometer… This taxi driver exercises a profession now authorized by the socialist regime inherited from Fidel Castro. In somewhat unusual conditions: the engine of his car is indeed that of a generator! Impossible to find spare parts or to acquire a new car because of the American embargo. By force of circumstance, the Cubans have become resourceful. The country roads may be poorly paved, but they offer a shortcut to the country’s history. Timothee Duboc