Lollipop to Surviving Syria's Prisons: the week in rave reviews

The Guardian

14-06-2025

BBC iPlayer; full series available
Summed up in a sentence In this chilling documentary, two activist brothers head back to the hellish prisons where they were held for nearly a decade during Assad's regime, then the film-makers go further … and meet their old prison guards.
What our reviewer said 'As it's described here, the depravity Syria sunk into might be far beyond human forgiveness. Hussam, a former prison officer who says he hasn't looked in a mirror for three years because he cannot bear to see himself, recalls a tradition he and his colleagues upheld every Wednesday morning: 'execution parties'. At one such event, one of the prisoners who was hanged by the neck didn't die, so Hussam was ordered to finish the job. This put him close enough to hear the man's last words. 'Before he died he said one thing: 'I'm going to tell God what you did.'' Jack Seale
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BBC iPlayer; full series available
Summed up in a sentence The rollicking BBC drama about the infamous Brink's-Mat robbery returns with the irresistible realisation that the police were only after half the gold bullion – then imagines what happened to the rest of it!
What our reviewer said 'The Gold is still prone to giving its characters lengthy speeches, though that quirk has become as much a part of the series as sweaty detectives shouting 'nick 'im!'. But there is an overwhelming sense that this is Good Quality British Drama.' Rebecca Nicholson
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Now/Sky Documentaries; available now
Summed up in a sentence A staggering documentary about the BA flight that stopped for a refuel in Kuwait … just as Saddam Hussein was invading.
What our reviewer said 'If it were a work of fiction, the story of Flight 149 would probably be deemed too horrifying – or too unbelievable – for television. Indeed, as a documentary interspersed with dramatic reconstructions, at points it is almost unbearable to watch. But it is a crucial piece of work: a one-off film that goes deep into a bizarre and increasingly hideous ordeal to ask how and why it happened.' Hannah J Davies
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Channel 4
Summed up in a sentence Jamie Oliver hated school and wrote himself off because of undiagnosed dyslexia, so this striking documentary follows the chef/activist as he launches his new campaign: the push for mandatory screening for all children.
What our reviewer said 'Oliver has less bounce to him than he did during his school dinners campaign. He looks weary, though still determined. He is doing, on both fronts, still better than the rest of us.'
Further reading Jamie Oliver attacks Essex council for not recognising dyslexia as special need
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Disney+; full series available now
Summed up in a sentence A cracking case-of-the-week crime drama starring Kaitlin Olson as a lovable genius with an IQ of 160 who is working as a cleaner in a police station when she solves a doozy of a case – then gets brought in as a consultant in the homicide department.
What our reviewer said 'It is so much desperately needed, perfectly paced fun that, like Kenneth Tynan before me with Look Back in Anger, I don't believe I could be friends with anyone who doesn't love it.' Lucy Mangan
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Further reading The best TV of 2025 in the UK so far
In cinemas now
Summed up in a sentence Daisy-May Hudson's agonised, head-butting portrait of a woman trying to regain custody of her kids is surprisingly even-handed.
What our reviewer said 'It's an impassioned, humane and urgently performed drama, a vivid look at what it's like to be reduced to screaming anguish by the system – as well as what it's like to work for the system, and to be the brick wall getting screamed at.' Peter Bradshaw
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Further reading 'How much can one person take?': Posy Sterling on her intense portrayal of a mum trapped in custody hell
In cinemas now
Summed up in a sentence Windswept samurai western set in 18th-century Scotland, an almost surreal tale of itinerant martial arts performers and a band of thieves.
What our reviewer said 'The pure strangeness of the movie commands attention and there is a charismatic lead performance by Japanese actor-musician Mitsuki Kimura, or Kôki.' Peter Bradshaw
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In cinemas now
Summed up in a sentence Amusing, well-played French comedy with Camille Rutherford endearing as a writer who wins a place on a Jane Austen retreat.
What our reviewer said 'It glides along on Rutherford's performance as Agathe – witty, warm, keenly observant, a bit clumsy and Bridget Jones-ish, but never, not even for a moment, cringy.' Cath Clarke
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In cinemas now
Summed up in a sentence Compassionate Troubles romance from 1984, with Helen Mirren as a Catholic woman who marries across the sectarian divide to John Lynch's Cal.
What our reviewer said 'There can't be many movies about love in which the principals don't so much as kiss until an hour and a quarter into the running time. What leads up to the main event is an observant, bleak, sometimes mordantly funny and compassionate account of everyone's melancholy existence.' Peter Bradshaw
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True Story; out now
Summed up in a sentence Former UN weapons inspector Hans Blix is interviewed about his role in the Iraq war, WMD and why his world of diplomacy has disappeared.
What our reviewer said 'The result is insightful and a vivid time capsule for the grim and mendacious era of the 'war on terror', during which Blix was tasked with discovering the truth about Saddam's supposed weapons.' Peter Bradshaw
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Further reading From Bush to Blix: what happened to the key figures in the Iraq war?
Reviewed by Jonathan Jones
Summed up in a sentence A dual biography of bohemian painters and siblings Gwen and Augustus John.
What our reviewer said 'Biography can be a glib genre, but Mackrell approaches her subjects with an almost novelistic sensibility. What is success, what is failure? This book raises big questions about how we can judge or know others.'
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Further reading Fights, flings and fabulous paintings: how sibling rivals Augustus and Gwen John exasperated each other
Reviewed by Huw Green
Summed up in a sentence An accessible guide to the most important psychological theory since Freud: predictive processing.
What our reviewer said 'One of the most enjoyable things popular science can do is surprise us with a new angle on how the world operates. Yon's book does this often as he draws out the implications of the predictive brain.'
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Reviewed by Mythili Rao
Summed up in a sentence What can the animal world tell us about how humans couple up?
What our reviewer said 'The story of sexual evolution is one of experimentation and constant improvisation, and that, he says, goes a long way to explaining why human sexual norms seem to be undergoing a transformation.'
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Reviewed by Keshava Guha
Summed up in a sentence Descendants of a proscribed intercaste marriage are connected across continents and centuries in an ambitious panorama.
What our reviewer said 'Johal is a brilliant observer of romance: of uncertain beginnings and awkward endings.'
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Reviewed by Rachel Seiffert
Summed up in a sentence Secrets and sex in post-second world war Europe.
What our reviewer said 'Van der Wouden can draw characters with nuance; she creates and sustains atmospheres deftly, and ultimately delivers a thrilling story.'
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Further reading 'I was on the way to a funeral when the idea came to me': 2024's Booker-shortlisted authors on the moment inspiration struck
Out now
Summed up in a sentence This Zurich duo were torn between focusing on electronics and starting a band – and ended up with a dizzying combination of the two.
What our reviewer said 'This is a whirlwind of an album … Anchored by drawn-out loops, each track slowly builds tension to dizzying, near-erotic heights … For all their repetition, the instrumentals are moreish and never dull, thanks also to the ominous sirens and metallic clangs scattered throughout.' Safi Bugel
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Out 20 June
Summed up in a sentence The LA sisters reflect at length on a painful and difficult breakup. The results are equally messy, but the highs are high indeed.
What our reviewer said 'I Quit peaks, spectacularly, with Relationships. The rest of the album's 15 tracks range from fiercely good and instantly replayable to somewhat bland and instantly forgettable.' Rachel Aroesti
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Out now
Summed up in a sentence The adventurous composer cultivated slime mould and used its intricate webs as inspiration for this complex post-classical release.
What our reviewer said 'Complicated and dense, Hymnal demands deep listening – no bad thing – but its repetitive, jerking movements and myriad layers often become samey and numbing, with Pramuk's fascinating ideas buried in the murk.' Katie Hawthorne
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Out now
Summed up in a sentence Sviatoslav Richter was one of the most recorded pianists of the 20th century but these live recordings from France and Switzerland in 1965 have never been released until now.
What our reviewer said 'There are recordings of Richter's performances of all four sonatas already in the catalogue, but the immediacy of these versions is startling … each work was approached afresh each time he played it.' Andrew Clements
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OVO Hydro, Glasgow; touring to 21 June
Summed up in a sentence Jarvis Cocker's Britpop legends recently came back for More, their first album since 2001. This accompanying tour features highlights from that alongside the hits.
What our reviewer said 'The setlist caters for fans of most Pulp eras, but This Is Hardcore heads are truly spoiled, with Help the Aged and The Fear both played live for the first time in over a decade.' Claire Biddles
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Further reading My cultural awakening: a Pulp song made me realise I was in love with my best friend