Two amazing documentaries
“As if we had stolen the Mona Lisa from the Louvre in Paris and replaced it with a fake,” Patrice Roy told Téléjournal at the time. During the holiday season in 2021, the iconic portrait of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, taken by famous photographer Yousuf Karsh in Ottawa in 1941, disappeared from a living room at the Château Laurier where it had hung for decades. It was only the following summer that the staff of the prestigious hotel discovered the pot aux roses. Two years later, the mystery remains unsolved, since the culprit has still neither been identified nor found…
Today, director Martin Cadotte (French in America) takes a close look at this improbable affair in a fascinating documentary for Radio-Canada. Where is Winston Churchill? The theft of the Château Laurier returns in particular to the unfolding of the facts and then to the investigation, which are very intriguing, but its strong point lies in these two subjects explored on screen: the symbolism of the portrait and the theft of works of art in general. We learn, among other things, that the famous photo has had an impact well beyond Canadian borders, because it is now found on United Kingdom bank notes.
Let’s also highlight the upcoming broadcast on TV5 of another fantastic documentary. The ocean seen from the heart, by Marie-Dominique Michaud and Iolande Cadrin-Rossignol (The Earth seen from the heart), released in theaters earlier this year, is all the more precious as it contains one of the last testimonies of the astrophysicist and ecologist Hubert Reeves and that it offers an eminently poetic immersion in the beauty and power of the marine world.
Where is Winston Churchill? The theft of the Château Laurier
ICI Télé, December 16, 10:30 p.m.
The ocean seen from the heart
TV5, December 19, 7 p.m.
On the Disney+ side
The American online streaming giant offers two series that caught our attention. First there is this adaptation of Rick Riordan’s children’s literary saga, Percy Jackson and the Olympians. The series is adapted by the writer himself and screenwriter Jonathan E. Steinberg (Black Sails) and follows Percy Jackson’s dangerous quest punctuated by encounters with monsters and gods across America. The cast includes Walker Scobell (The Adam Project) in the title role, as did the late Lance Reddick (The Wire) and Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton) in Zeus and Hermes.
The platform examines another phenomenon with its docuseries BTS Monuments: Beyond the Star dedicated to this iconic K-pop group. In ten years of career, BTS has already gone through highs, such as countless awards and colossal concerts, and lows, such as a few challenges to overcome when the song is released. Hazardwhich are discussed by its members in exclusive interviews.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Disney+, from December 20
BTS Monuments: Beyond the Star
Disney+, from December 20
It’s time to celebrate
Finally, note that TVA’s cult game The cheater celebrates its 2000e episode in a one-hour special where Guy Jodoin will be surrounded by Dave Morissette and Sonia Vachon, in particular. Still on the Quebecor channel, the Boys — Popol, Stan, Bob, Méo, Mario, Jean-Charles, Julien, Fern and Ti-Guy — are toasting their 25th birthday, an opportunity for the actors to look back on their memories.
On TV5, Lynda Lemay invites Mario Pelchat and Roxane Bruneau for Christmas, while THE big holiday cleaning by Christian Essiambre, André Roy and Luc LeBlanc returns for a fourth year on Unis TV.
Together for the Holidays with Lynda Lemay
TV5, December 16, 8 p.m.
Holiday cleaning
Unis TV, December 15, 8 p.m.
The 2000th cheater
TVA, December 17, 6:30 p.m.