Chapter 21: Religion

Narrator Sharmila Tagore takes us on a global tour of great films about religion. Our journey begins in America in the 1910s, travels to Sri Lanka in the ’70s, and dives into the work of Lucrecia Martel, Jessica Hausner and Marjane Satrapi.

Chapter 22: Work

Work may seem too unglamorous a subject for cinema, but as narrator Jane Fonda tells us, some of the most compelling scenes show working life, in films such as American Honey, the silent Russian masterpiece Women of Ryazan, Venezuela’s Araya, Patty Jenkins’ Monster and Mary Harron’s American Psycho.

Chapter 23: Politics

Another element of everyday life. From silent cinema to the 21st century, from the visually astonishing The Enchanted Desna to Divorce Iranian Style and Bigelow’s Strange Days, a wide range of films have drawn their energy and their edge from their political content.

Chapter 24: Change of Pace

We love to be surprised in films. Narrated by Sharmila Tagore, this short chapter explores surprises of this kind.

Chapter 25: Comedy

Is comedy universal? Who have been the great comic filmmakers around the world? Narrator Sharmila Tagore guides us through scenes from Big starring Tom Hanks, Ida Lupino’s The Trouble with Angels, the wonderful films of Elaine May, the classic Norwegian comedy Fools on the Hill and many more.

Chapter 26: Melodrama

As popular a genre as comedy, what are some of the finest scenes in melodrama? Sharmila Tagore tells a story that takes us from the American silent film Shoes to Kira Muratova’s magnificent Chekhov’s Motifs, and from there to Binka Zhelyazkova’s visually striking We Were Young.

Chapter 27: Science Fiction

Kathryn Bigelow, the films of the Wachowski siblings, Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman, Lori Petty’s Tank Girl, the television series adapted from Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. Our look at science fiction will take us to extraordinary places, to other realms.

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Chapter 28: Horror and Hell

Literal, metaphorical, political: Deepa Mehta’s Earth, Samira Makhmalbaf’s Blackboards, Jennifer Kent’s horror masterpiece The Babadook, Joanna Hogg’s unsettling Archipelago, the Tunisian film The Silences of the Palace and many more.

Chapter 29: Tension

Thrillers and more. We will examine scenes from films as different as Joel DeMott’s documentary Demon Lover Diary, Kathryn Bigelow’s Blue Steel, Carol Morley’s Dreams of a Life, Mimi Leder’s The Peacemaker and Marleen Gorris’ remarkable A Question of Silence.