Polly Findlay’s barnstorming drama about interpersonal and religious tumult in late middle age is a triumph, swerving any sense of sentimentalism

Movies about ageing empty-nesters going on a bittersweet holiday and unexpectedly having to confront something about their relationship are common enough. Roger Michell’s Le Week-End starred Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan as an oldster couple having a Eurostar break in Paris; and in Paolo Virz ì ’s sucrose The Leisure Seeker , Donald Sutherland and Helen Mirren impulsively head off in a Winnebago. There is often something soft and fuzzy and depressing in the wrong way about these films’ lenient sunset-sentimentalism – but not so with Polly Findlay’s fiercely sad, spiky and wonderfully acted film, based on a novel by Bernard MacLaverty (the author of Cal).

Gerry and Stella, played by Ciarán Hinds and Lesley Manville, are a late-middle-aged couple from Northern Ireland who left for Scotland in the 1970s, traumatised by the Troubles, and are taking a restorative midwinter break in Amsterdam. They appear perfectly happy and affectionate, but Gerry has a drinking problem and Stella feels lonely because Gerry does not share her Catholic faith. In Amsterdam, Stella is struck with epiphanic rapture at the peaceful beauty of the Begijnhof , the city’s enclosed 14th-century courtyard that historically housed unmarried Catholic women who wanted to devote themselves to God.

London mayor also says his party should make clear manifesto commitment on full membership in next parliament

Good morning. Shortly before the general election in 2024, Keir Starmer said he did not think the UK would rejoin the EU in his lifetime . (He is now 63.) At the time he was loath to say anything that implied the Brexit vote was a mistake. More recently, Labour has been happy to talk about the economic damage done by the leave vote, and ministers want a closer relationship with the EU, but ruling out a customs union or single market membership remain firm red lines for Labour. And even more pro-EU parties, like the Liberal Democrats, are a bit vague about when full rejoining might be an option (not least because the last thing the Brussels probably wants is another half-decade of Brexit negotiations hell).

But today Sadiq Khan , the mayor of London, is trying to shift the debate into a different space. In an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica , he has said not just that rejoining would be good in principle (which is about as far as most pro-European Labour MPs are willing to go), but that Labour should commit to rejoining in its next election manifesto.

I see on a daily basis the damage Brexit has done to not just London, but Londoners, the damage economically, socially and culturally. And I’m quite clear in terms of what needs to happen, which is I do think we should join the European Union …

So I think there should be a five-stage process in relation to this.

Charity Commission appoints interim manager at William Blake House in Northamptonshire, under investigation after families raised alarm

A charity watchdog has taken control of a learning disability care home in Northamptonshire that is under investigation after residents’ families raised concerns over its management, including payments of £1m to a trustee.

The Charity Commission has appointed an interim manager to run William Blake House, which faces potential insolvency in three weeks’ time if it cannot head off a winding-up order brought by the tax authorities over £1.6m in unpaid tax bills.

Unemployment holds steady, but Bank of England is unlikely to be convinced by ONS data to cut interest rates

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Wage growth slowed sharply in the three months to January according to the latest snapshot of the jobs market from the Office for National Statistics.

Average earnings fell to 3.8% in the three months to January, from 4.2%, which was a larger fall than forecast by City economists. It was the slowest rate of wage growth in more than five years.

Unesco calls for action as lack of access and sanitation hit health, education and food security of women

Women and girls are bearing the brunt of water shortages and a lack of sanitation around the world, hindering the economic and social development of poorer countries, the UN has warned.

Women are responsible for collecting water in more than 70% of rural households that do not have access to mains water across the developing world. Women and girls collectively spend 250m hours a day collecting water globally.

Nottingham Forest seek to overturn a one-goal Europa League deficit against a familiar foe who were early champions of the set piece

“I like a bit of chaos and structure both on and off the pitch,” says Midtjylland’s technical director, Kristian Kjær. “Getting the right mix is most important.” Perfecting this balance has enabled the Danish side to thrive in Europe, powered by a global recruitment model and innovation.

Nottingham Forest travel to the MCH Arena on Thursday seeking to overturn a one-goal deficit from the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie, having also lost to Midtjylland in the group stage this season. This is the furthest the Danish club, founded in 1999, have progressed in Europe. “It must have been insane to be starting the club [just over] 25 years ago and then see where we are today,” says Kjær. “What a ride.”

Bizarre outbursts at the press, a backstory full of mishaps – the US ‘secretary of war’ earns his keep as the loyalty hire par excellence

Has there ever been a more ludicrous political character than Pete Hegseth, the US government’s so-called secretary of war, who makes Ronald Reagan look understated and urbane? Last week, Hegseth launched an attack on the American press for its coverage of Iran, which he called insufficiently “patriotic”. (A CNN commentator and former Republican congressman came back with “punk” and “cry baby” to describe Hegseth’s own demeanour.) When he stands at the podium with his Mr Incredible jaw and head extended, turtle-like, way out in front of his body, all you can think is this: which is a greater threat to American national security, Iran’s nuclear ambitions or Hegseth’s failure to meet even the most entry-level requirements for a person in his position?

The majority of Americans who know who he is – only about 70% of them, according to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center – don’t like the guy, and his petulant outbursts last week at the Pentagon can’t have helped. Since Donald Trump appointed him in January last year, what has become evident about Hegseth is that, like so many bullies, he backs down sharpish if he meets any significant pushback. “Jennifer, you’ve been about the worst,” snapped Hegseth to a Fox News reporter last June in a phrase we should all have had printed on T-shirts. (Jennifer Griffin elegantly countered “I take issue with that,” and Hegseth backed away and pivoted to another point.)

Since 1892, a workshop in Brussels has taught aspiring painters the technique of trompe d’oeil. It’s brutal work, the artists say – so why do people travel from all around the world to master it?

One morning last February, in a chilly studio in Brussels, 28 people in white coats gathered to watch Sylvie Van der Kelen paint the sky. “The first touch of the brush is generally the best,” said Van der Kelen as light, pink-tinged clouds began to appear. “It is preferable not to make revisions.”

For a few days this winter I was allowed to sit in on classes at the École Van der Kelen-Logelain, a mythologised painting school in Brussels that is unlike any other arts education institution in the world. Run by the same family since it was founded in 1892, the Van der Kelen course takes place every winter underneath its glass and wrought iron roof, extending out of the back of a gothic brick townhouse.

The polymath French film-maker might be a pessimist, but his Oscar-nominated animated film is one of light and hope – even if he did have to fund it himself

There are grey clouds over Los Angeles, and the sky is spitting. “It never rains in LA,” says Ugo Bienvenu. “But every time I come here, it rains.” For the past eight months, the French animator has been on the campaign trail, in LA and elsewhere, with Arco, which was nominated for best animated feature at the Oscars on Sunday. It’s a gorgeous family animation, combining ET’s big heart with the artistry of Studio Ghibli. But travelling has meant being absent for long stretches from his home in Paris, where he lives with his wife and two small children.

This trip, Bienvenu’s family has flown out to LA with him for the first time, which explains why he’s speaking to me over a video call from a drizzly garden. “I’m outside, so they can make noise,” he says, lighting a cigarette. As he paces, I catch a glimpse through the patio doors of his four-year-old daughter kneeling at the coffee table, colouring.