■ The Broken Circle Breakdown
Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, this Belgian movie deals with familiar subjects: the idyll of love, the unexpected arrival of a child, the death of that little girl from cancer and the recriminations that follow. What’s distinct in The Broken Circle Breakdown is the setting: the banjo-fired Americana music subculture in the Flemish region of Belgium. Co-stars Veerle Baetens and Johan Heldenbergh perform the songs (and play in a bluegrass band in real life).
■ You Will Be My Son
“A wine’s aroma tells a story—just like a woman,” says Paul (Niels Arestrup), a charming old rogue reluctant to leave the family vineyard to his not entirely capable, wimpy son Martin (Lorànt Deutsch). Putting Martin down at every opening, Paul begins to consider willing the property to the son of his estate manager. Nominated for a César (a French Oscar), You Will Be My Son is a slow-simmering family drama that rises to an almost operatic climax.
■ “Newhart: The Complete Second Season”
Bob Newhart was television’s master of deadpan comedy, the small screen’s Buster Keaton, and is best remembered for the long-running “Bob Newhart Show” (1972-1978). Trading professions from well-adjusted psychologist to fish-out-of-water writer, he was transposed from urban Chicago to a bed-and-breakfast in bucolic Vermont for his follow-up series, “Newhart” (1982-1990). In season two, the comedian held his own with the screenplay’s off-and-on humor, but suffered from a thin cast of supporting players. Suzanne Pleshette was sorely missed.
