Our TV favorites from August 5 to 11
Saturday August 5
On July 25, 1909, Louis Blériot, a 37-year-old engineer, crossed the Channel aboard the aircraft he designed himself. It is an unprecedented feat. A century later, in a hangar in the Paris region, enthusiasts are trying to rebuild piece by piece the legendary plane whose plans disappeared in the interwar period. These two stories are told in parallel in this captivating documentary. The most fascinating is undoubtedly the one that takes place during the Belle Époque. Here we are immersed in this period of technological effervescence where the pioneers of aviation competed in audacity, courage and tenacity. “This camera is everything to me and I’m going to ask everything from it”, wrote Louis Blériot a few days before his resounding feat. The man will take the greatest risks aboard this flying machine with fine white wings! Thanks to archival images and moving testimonies, this film paints the portrait of a courageous man, father of five children and whose wife, Alice, played a decisive role. She encouraged her husband to soar into the air, thus propelling aviation into a new era. A great adventure. Catherine Write
Sunday August 6
During her lifetime, Amalia Rodrigues (1920-1999) had expressed the wish that her house would remain intact after her death so that her fans around the world could discover a part of her intimacy. His wish has been granted. And it is this building located at 193 rue Sao Bento in Lisbon, where the queen of fado (a Portuguese musical genre that exalts melancholy) lived for forty-four years, that Jean Rousselot makes us discover. The camera lingers on the diva’s piano, stage dresses, poems, trophies and other personal items including her astounding collection of artist Fred Astaire’s VHS tapes that are said to have saved her from suicide. But above all, this visit allows us to retrace the life and work of this star who was born into a poor family and who, thanks to his voice, became a legend. Eyoum Nganguè
Monday August 7
Filmmaker of the strange (Blue Velvet), David Lynch is inspired here by a true story: in 1994, a septuagenarian from Iowa (United States) undertakes a journey of 400 km, aboard his tractor-mower , to visit his “big” brother from Wisconsin, victim of a heart attack and with whom he has been at odds for ten years. Marrying the sides of the cereal plains, this straight path at low speed, contrasts with the dented life of which the old man modestly reveals a handful of episodes. Carried by the soundtrack of a folk ballad with minimalist accents, this painting of deep America owes a lot to Richard Farnsworth’s performance. Dignified and restrained, the 79-year-old actor composes a character inhabited by the grace of redemption. Pierre-Olivier Boiton
Jesus said to them: “My wife (…), she can be my disciple (…)”. When in September 2012, Dr. Karen L. King, an American historian specializing in ancient Christianity, revealed during an international symposium in Rome the few words inscribed on a fragment of Coptic papyrus dated from the 4th century, the announcement had the effect of a bomb! For two years, the scientist had been discreetly analyzing this 3.8 by 7.6 cm fragment, comprising 8 incomplete lines with 33 words, acquired in 1999 by a collector wishing to remain anonymous. Immediately, the Vatican vehemently refuted the authenticity of the document. But the various dating techniques operated subsequently will confirm it, even if certain skeptical historians evoke the possibility of a forgery (a forgery in writing). Despite some side effects in its presentation, this documentary takes seriously the historical journey of this writing (which could be a copy of the Gospel according to Thomas), while explaining the distinction between canonical and apocryphal texts, specifying the place of Mary Magdalene in the Church and the reasons for establishing priestly celibacy. Marie-Helene Servantie
Tuesday August 8
At the head of the whole Entertainment, in Stains (Seine-Saint-Denis), Zahia Ziouani (played by Oulaya Amamra) knew how to brave the obstacles to reach her dream: to become conductor of her own orchestra. This feature film with communicative energy retraces his combative youth. In this biopic, there is no misery, but a joyful immersion in a family of music lovers of Algerian origin, determined to lead their daughters, Zahia and her twin sister, towards an artistic career. With their talent and their complicity, the two musicians trained in the suburbs will manage to find their place in the very elitist world of classical music. To the rhythm of Bacchanale by Saint-Saëns and Boléro by Ravel, these two heroines take the viewer into the beautiful symphony of their lives. Catherine Write
It is a complex period in European history. Seven years after the end of the Second World War, the continent is sinking into the turmoil of the Cold War. In this original documentary, former witnesses (German writer, American journalist posted in Paris, Italian communist, etc.) tell how this division was perceived on both sides of the Iron Curtain. With in the East, a Europe that revolves around Moscow and in the West, six pro-American countries (France, Italy, Federal Republic of Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) which are trying to unite by forming the foundations of what would turn out to be, decades later, the European Union. These stories are as precious as they are enlightening, because they inform us of facts sometimes hidden by history. While Europe is taking shape, a communist and above all anti-American wave is sweeping through France, for example… Without artifice, this work relates, on a human scale, daily life under these ideologies and how the European narrative was constructed. step by step. It is preceded by two episodes of the same program Behind the Scenes of History, this time focusing on an earlier period: Nazism. Rachel Notteau
Wednesday August 9
This evening, embark on a second unique journey by river. Direction the Seine. François Pécheux is not limited to the well-known eddies of the Seine under the bridges of Paris. He sets out to discover a tender spring rising between the reeds at Source-Seine, in Côte-d’Or, and flowing into the English Channel at Le Havre. More than 770 kilometers of interlacing in the heart of the French countryside, encounters with the Yonne and the Aube, diversions by the distillery of Alexandre and the air conditioners of the Louvre, rocking of inhabited barges (sometimes for generations) by lovers of this river, of river heritage visited – such as the Andé mill whose foundations date back to 1195 – and finally of soundings of the estuary. The meetings are also, obviously, human: Salvatore and his half-floating, half-flying machine, which will amaze François Pécheux and give him a few cold sweats, or Major Anne and the team of the river brigade, who go despite themselves reveal to him the dark waters of the Seine. An exotic journey, touching by the sincerity of the host and served by very beautiful images, both aerial and closer to the discoveries. Anne-Laure Boveron
Thursday August 10
Would Emile Zola recognize his Bonheur des dames? Probably so, even if the novel is set in Victorian England. This British television series, in two seasons of eight episodes each, depicts a world in the making, through the two heroes. On the one hand, Denise Lovett (Joanna Vanderham, pictured) left her countryside to join the city and become a saleswoman in the first department store for ladies. On the other, John Moray (Emun Elliott, photo) founded this famous store, The Paradise. Their common and complementary intelligences make them quickly meet and work together. In front of them, struggling to deploy an aristocracy in full decrepitude which, at great expense, shines its last lights. She is embodied more particularly in the character of Katherine Glendenning (Elaine Cassidy), who persists in wanting to marry Moray, despite the marked reluctance of her father. The sets, costumes and lights certainly take us to another era, and the interpretation of the slightest secondary character rings true, right down to the credits that whet your appetite… To see without delay, even if the series displays ten years on the clock! Delphine Loez
In this new novel, Philippe Gougler leaves for an invigorating journey to the Netherlands, haloed as many mysteries as clichés. As always, journeys in the daily trains will be an opportunity to learn more about the mentality of the inhabitants (the singular relationship of the Dutch to money, to tolerance…). Over time, the flatness of their territory – a third of which is below sea level – has forced them to protect themselves from the onslaught of the waves by erecting barriers and ramparts. Such as the famous windmills located near Rotterdam which are used to pump out the invading water. Among the curiosities to discover: a surprising bike pound, a twin of the Maginot Line (also useless) and an enticing cheese bar. Marie-Helene Servantie
Urbex is an anglicism, abbreviation of the expression “Urban exploration”, “urban exploration” in French, which designates a practice born in the 1990s consisting in visiting sites or buildings built and then abandoned by man. Fond of journeys out of time between ruins and rust, the followers of this illicit hobby break into houses, factories, castles, hospitals formerly occupied and now deserted. Director Anthony Binst followed some of these modern-day adventurers to these sites where nature and concrete collide. This dive into these post-apocalyptic atmospheres of places sometimes ransacked, sometimes tagged and often looted gives the opportunity to question our civilization. Eyoum Nganguè
Friday August 11
Raphaël de Casabianca invited Amir, an artist addicted to smartphones and a pure city dweller, to the Jura, one of the least densely populated territories in France. The opportunity for the singer to discover nature, punctuated by friendly encounters with those who have chosen to live in this territory. The opportunity for the public to learn more about the career of this artist, born in France thirty-seven years ago, but who grew up in Israel. “Here, you can’t cheat,” recalls a resident. And this is undoubtedly the lesson to be learned from this very successful number. The authenticity of the welcome moves Amir and appeals to viewers. An existence nourished by solidarity, in harmony with the environment: yes, it is possible in France and nowadays! Estelle Couvercelle
