Challenger – A man fights for the truth
Thriller, One, Saturday, 6:45 p.m
Cape Canaveral, 1986 – the space shuttle on the American space mission Challenger explodes shortly after take-off, killing the seven-person crew. A high-ranking commission is quickly tasked with investigating the accident. It is better to work behind closed doors to cover up mistakes. But the physics Nobel Prize winner Richard Feynman (William Hurt) does not give up: As a scientist, he feels it is his duty to expose the lies of politics and NASA. He persistently gathers evidence after evidence to get to the bottom of the cause of the catastrophe. A challenging thriller that grippingly follows the events of one of the most devastating disasters in space history.
Dallas Buyers Club
Drama, 3sat, Saturday, 11:10 p.m
Texas, 1980s: It’s a time when the HI virus and its consequences were hardly understood. Many still believed that only gays could get infected. So does Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey) – until he himself falls ill with AIDS. The doctors can’t help him because the only medicine they have in the hospital is still in the testing phase and can’t be given to him. So Ron organizes his own treatment. In the hospital he meets the bird of paradise Rayon (Jared Leto). Together they bring in vast amounts of medicine and sell it to other AIDS sufferers. In order not to be prosecuted as a dealer, they set up the “Dallas Buyers Club” and tie drug sales to membership. Matthew McConaughey shines in his role as a homophobic rodeo macho and was awarded an Oscar.
Wellness for couples
Ensemble film, 3sat, Sunday, 9.45 p.m
Five couples, embodied by Anke Engelke and Sebastian Blomberg, among others, have booked a wellness weekend in an idyllic country castle. To the surprise of some characters, the wellness package even includes couples therapy. In the sessions, the characters experience existential crises, and the whole thing is led by three real therapists. The special feature: the top-class cast of actors acts without a well-developed script, only on the basis of character and couple profiles. The unconventional comedy draws a sympathetic picture of the big and small relationship problems of normal couples. The concept of improvised dialogues ensures a refreshingly offbeat film experience. A successful change from the otherwise rather stiff German film.
Pretty much best friends
Comedy, NDR, Saturday, 9:45 p.m
Philippe and Driss could hardly be more different: One is extremely rich and lives in a villa where an army of employees takes care of everything; the other is an immigrant child from the banlieue, just released from prison and now hired as Philippe’s carer. Because he is paralyzed from the waist down after a sports accident and needs someone to take care of him around the clock. Two worlds collide in this French comedy. But together the two men experience the craziest things. An intense, long-lasting friendship develops from an initial mutual rejection. Humorous and heartwarming, the comedy tells the story of a fateful male friendship that actually happened. A film with cult status, not only in France.