What’s Streaming
SWEET BEAN (2016) Stream on Mubi. Sentaro (Masatoshi Nagase) — a Japanese baker who serves pancake-like pastries called “dorayaki” — is struggling, and appears perpetually grumpy. Then along comes Tokue (Kirin Kiki), the fairy godmother of “an,” the sweet red bean paste in the center of dorayaki. Seemingly out of nowhere, Tokue approaches Sentaro’s bakery and tells him she wants to work for him. Sentaro is hesitant at first. But Tokue’s an has something special, he realizes, and the wisdom she has to give is equally magical. In his review for The New York Times, Glenn Kenny wrote that “the movie, beautifully shot and acted, earns its ultimate sense of hope by confronting real heartbreak head-on, and with compassion.” “Sweet Bean,” based on a novel by Durian Sukegawa, was written and directed by Naomi Kawase, and it debuted at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.
WIZARDS: TALES OF ARCADIA Stream on Netflix. After discovering a secret underworld of trolls and teaming up with aliens to save the planet, the teenagers of Arcadia Oaks are back for one final journey: time traveling to the world of King Arthur’s Camelot to defeat villains and preserve the future. Major characters like Jim (Emile Hirsch), Toby (Charlie Saxton) and Claire (Lexi Medrano) have returned from the previous sagas of “Trollhunters” and “3Below,” joined this time by the legendary Merlin (David Bradley). The series is written and produced by Guillermo del Toro, whose 2017 film “The Shape of Water” took home four Oscars, including best picture and director.
PAN Y CIRCO Stream on Amazon. This new series from Amazon and the Mexican actor Diego Luna sets out to break a taboo: discussing politics during mealtime. Instead, the show travels to various regions — such as Baja California, Puebla and Mexico City — to discuss gender violence, the climate crisis, racism, drug legalization and other issues with sought-after experts. Luna hosts these conversations over meals prepared by esteemed chefs, such as Enrique Olvera, Elena Reygadas and Alexander Suastegui.
What’s on TV
JOJO RABBIT (2019) 8:05 p.m. on HBO. Taika Waititi, the director of “What We Do in the Shadows” (2014), “Hunt for the Wilderpeople” (2016) and “Thor: Ragnarok” (2017), wears many hats in his most recent film. Waititi is a producer and the director of “Jojo Rabbit,” won an Oscar for writing its adapted screenplay, and also makes an appearance as an actor — playing Adolf Hitler, the imaginary friend of a 10-year-old boy. The boy is Johannes (Roman Griffin Davis), or Jojo, who is being raised in Nazi Germany as a member of the Hitler Youth. Jojo’s mother, Rosie (Scarlett Johansson), opposes Germany’s nationalism, which isn’t quite clear to Jojo until he discovers Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie), a Jewish girl whom Rosie has hidden in their home. Despite its setting, the film is a sweet satirical comedy, A.O. Scott wrote in his review for The Times, adding that “it risks going wrong in a dozen different ways and manages to avoid at least half of them.”
