Plenty of quality British entertainment awaits you this week on Rialto Channel, especially for those with a fondness for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes. Mr. Holmes, a moving feature starring Sir Ian McKellen, and Arthur & George, a three part mini-series about the creator of Sherlock Homes, are quite different and yet both tackle their subjects from interesting, original angles.
Mr. Holmes Premiering Saturday 16th July, 8.30pm
Sir Ian McKellen is absolutely fabulous in this original, new twist on Sherlock Holmes, the world’s most famous detective. 93-years-old, long retired to the country and grappling with dementia, Holmes, assisted by his housekeeper’s young son Roger (Milo Parker), is determined to recall and record his final case that forced him into retirement in order to make sense of his life. The film is based on the 2005 novel A Slight Trick of the Mind, by the American writer Mitch Cullin, and has been adapted into a film by screenwriter Jeffrey Hatcher (Stage Beauty, The Duchess). The aim of the story is to strip away Dr. Watson’s impression of Sherlock Holmes as presented to the world in his books to reveal the ‘real’ Sherlock Holmes, one who spends most of his days tending to his beloved bees and struggling to remember the past. The film reunites McKellen with his Gods and Monster’s director Bill Condon, and also stars Laura Linney as Sherlock’s dour housekeeper Mrs. Munro. Mr. Holmes doesn’t feature the normal Baker St suspense; instead, it’s a tender, intelligent film about an elderly man’s realisation that there’s more to life than logic.
Arthur & George Part 1 Premiering Sunday 17th July, 8.30pm
Based on the novel by Julian Barnes, this three part British crime mini-series tells of the real-life case that inspired Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Martin Clunes), creator of Sherlock Holmes, to put down his pen and become detective himself. Listless from grief following the death of his first wife, Doyle finds himself enlivened after a miscarriage of justice is brought to his attention by George Edalji (Arsher Ali), a young British-Indian solicitor convicted of brutally attacking farm animals, who asks Doyle to clear his name. With Doyle’s secretary Alfred Wood (Charles Edwards) along for the ride, plenty of wispy fog and strange occurrences, this handsome period piece plays out like just like a Sherlock Holmes adventure – and no doubt that’s the idea.
Guantanamo’s Child Premiering Thursday 14th July, 8.30pm
In directors Patrick Reed and Michelle Shephard’s documentary Guantanamo’s Child, they ask the question, is Omar Khadr a child soldier or an unrepentant terrorist? The filmmaking duo get both sides of the story on camera, and yet their sympathies tend towards this young man, who at the age of 15 was captured by US troops in Afghanistan and taken to Guantanamo Bay. Khadr was born in Canada, but moved with his family to Jalalabad in Afghanistan in 1996, and the US government alleges that Khadr’s father had regular encounters with Bin Laden and other al-Qaeda leaders. Khadr is the first person since WWII to be prosecuted in a war crimes tribunal for acts committed as a juvenile. He spent 13 years in custody, in conditions described by Khadr and fellow detainees as harrowing and deeply distressing, and was released from prison on bail in 2015. This is his story in his own words.