The Painted Veil (2006)

Drama, brilliantly directed by John Curran, based on the 1925 novel by W. Somerset Maugham. 

Bacteriologist Walter Fane (Edward Norton) meets Kitty Garstin (Naomi Watts) in London and they quickly marry. Then Walter accepts a post in China, helping a village amid a cholera outbreak, forcing Kitty to go with him to punish her for her infidelity. 

It’s beautifully shot and extremely poignant. There’s a historical/political thread, but the main focus is on the couple’s complicated relationship and the way it evolves.

The script is subtle and nuanced. Likewise, the graceful and restrained-but-powerful performances.

On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)

After five films of Sean Connery as James Bond, George Lazenby steps in as 007 – smugly confident but not especially sparkly – for one time only.

The story gets off to a slow start with a fair bit of pottering around before the action kicks off. What is great in this film, however, is the girl Bond ends up falling for and even marrying. Unlike most of the females cast in these films, Diana Rigg is given a properly written role and a developed personality.

There are ludicrous moments, as always. The most absurd of these must be Bond walking around Blofeld’s secret base wearing a kilt and carrying a book on heraldry.

Telly Savalas is excellent as the villain: creepy but also oddly likeable. He brainwashes a bunch of young women wearing psychedelic clothes. And the action scenes – ski chase with machine guns, bobsleigh  chase, car chase in stock car race track – are exciting.

The tragic ending is so un-Bond-like that it seemed genuinely shocking.