What to stream this week: Wake in Fright, Search Party, On The Sauce and more

“Lost” for several decades, this classic Australian movie is a visceral and unforgettable experience you can stream now for free.

Wondering what to watch on these cold, wintry nights? Wonder no more.

SOMETHING CLASSICALLY AUSTRALIAN

Many of us are not perfect when it comes to supporting Australian movies, lured away by those shiny baubles Hollywood dangle in front of us. Now’s your shot to remedy that misstep.

ABC’s iview platform has released a really impressive slate of Australian movies and they’re pretty much all mandatory viewing. From the terrors of Snowtown to the thrills of Animal Kingdom, it’s proof of the great work our film industry has made.

Of course, the one movie that everyone Australian should see from this collection is the original Wake in Fright, which was lost for many decades until an unedited and uncensored print was unearthed in the CBS vaults in the US.

Go on, mate.

Released in 1971, it stars John Grant as a middle-class schoolteacher who becomes stranded in an outback mining town, where he falls in with the local tradition of drinking until he’s blind and going on a truly mad kangaroo hunt in the middle of the night.

Wake in Fright is a horrifying nightmare, an alcohol-fuelled, deeply uncomfortable look at a fractured national psyche.

There’s also my personal favourite, drama Lantana with Kerry Armstrong and Anthony LaPaglia, and you won’t fail to be moved by the story of Warwick Thornton’s Samson & Delilah.

Watch it: iview

SOMETHING DRAMATIC

A luminous Carey Mulligan

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Far From the Madding Crowd: Adapted by One Day novelist and Patrick Melrose screenwriter David Nicholls, and directed by Thomas Vinterberg, this is the fourth screen version of Thomas Hardy’s pastoral romance. It stars Carey Mulligan as the independent Bathsheba Everdene and Matthias Schoenaerts as shepherd Gabriel, in near-career-best performances. Watch it: iTunes/Google Play

The Singapore Grip: Starring Game of Thrones’ Charles Dance, David Morrissey and Luke Treadaway, this six-part period drama is adapted from J.G. Farrell’s novel by Oscar-winning playwright Christopher Hampton (Dangerous Liaisons). It’s focused on a British trading family living in Singapore during World War II at the time of the Japanese invasion. Watch it: Foxtel Now/Fetch from Sunday, July 26

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SOMETHING LOCAL

Just a small tipple

On The Sauce: If someone is going to examine Australia’s obsession with alcohol, it may as well be noted teetotaller Shaun Micallef, who hasn’t had a drop in three decades after drinking a little too much to excess in his youth. Micallef hosts this three-part series, exploring the link between our love to imbibe and our national identity, and the damage it causes. Watch it: ABC iview from Tuesday, July 21

The Sound: With live music pretty much shutdown around the country, new program The Sound hopes to provide some joy to music lovers and to showcase Australian talent. Conceived by promoter Michael Gudinski, the man who put together Music From The Homefront, the music show in its first episode this past Sunday featured Colin Hay, Nick Cave, Eskimo Joe and Kate Cebrano. Can’t wait to see the line-up this week. Watch it: iview, new episodes Sunday 5.30pm

SOMETHING IRREVERENT

Under-watched gem

Search Party S3: Maybe you missed the first two seasons of Search Party – wouldn’t blame you if you did, it only had a short run on SBS On Demand and it was a few years ago. The long-awaited third season is back this week and the whole series is making the leap to Stan, so now you too can get caught up in this funny, satirical mystery-comedy-drama-neonoir. It’s wearing a lot of tonal hats and it wears them all fabulously. Watch it: Stan from Friday, July 24

Chewing Gum: Maybe you’ve seen the buzz about I May Destroy You online over the past few weeks, a TV series our friends in the US and UK are obsessing over. While we wait for it to make to Australia (later this year), acquaint yourself with Chewing Gum first, which is creator and writer Michael Coel’s hilarious Netflix series about a young woman trying to lose her virginity. While Chewing Gum and I May Destroy You are not in-universe linked, the two share a DNA. Watch it: Netflix

SOMETHING CALMING

Mmmm, crumpets

The Great Canadian Bake-Off: There’s nothing as soothing for the soul as a series of The Great British Bake-Off, and you just know the Canadian spin-off is going to be as pleasant, delicious and wonderful as the original. There’s very little tension in this visual feast and you can’t help but feel better about the world and its inhabitants after every episode. Bonus, Schitt’s Creek’s Dan Levy is a host for the first two seasons. Watch it: Foxtel Now, from Tuesday, July 21

Remains of the Day: This handsome Merchant Ivory film starring Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins was adapted from Kazuo Ishiguro’s book of the same name. While the central tenet of the film is this repressed but charged emotional connection between the butler and the housekeeper of a country manor, its disciplined story and brilliant performances (plus, that beautiful English countryside) makes it a comforting movie. Watch it: iTunes/Google Play