Having been less than enthusiastic about many of the Hollywood movies dominating our TV schedules I at last have a film to get excited about. The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert (Pearl, 9.35pm) must be on my short-list of favourites. Stephen Elliott's brash and liberating Aussie movie has everything going for it, from its title on. Three drag queens leave the city lights of Sydney behind them and set out across the desert in their lavender bus crammed full of transvestite paraphernalia and Abba music blaring. They're led by British actor Terence Stamp (best-known as Billy Budd and the villain in Superman II ) who plays the trans-sexual Bernadette. This is a wonderful film about being joyously different and, ultimately, how painful that can be. Their journey is, of course, far from smooth, and not just because these 'girls' don't have the machismo to mend a bus. They're bound to collide with more conservative sensibilities in the Outback, and also make friends with some who harbour their own sexual secrets. Priscilla, which won an Oscar for best costumes, is filmed with outrageous colour and imagination. But it ends on a surprising note of pathos. The ageing, bitchy queens are just ordinary people beneath their frocks, tired of their chosen way of life. Pearl's International Film Week is a great chance to catch up on some of the more remarkable films made in recent years, that won acclaim in major international film festivals. It is a welcome break from Hollywood formulas, however well-done they may be. What a shame, though, is that the week isn't a month. Then we'd be in television clover. The Emmy-award winning comedy series featuring the insecure and pompous Dr Frasier Crane, host of a Seattle radio advice show, is now in its seventh season. Star is a bit behind the times, as tonight it launches the first season of this favourite American sit-com, Frasier (Star World, 9.30pm). In the first episode, The Good Son, Dr Crane's first day in Seattle is not exactly as he'd hoped it would be. His widowed father is deemed too old to live on his own so, along with dog Eddie, moves to Frasier's home. Back in the real world of business and politics, CNNI this week is turning its attention to Thailand, ground zero of the Asian economic melt-down, though now recovering faster than its neighbours. On Biz Asia (CNNI, 6.30pm and 8.30pm) Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai shares his views on the crisis, his plans to handle the social turmoil it caused, the outlook for Thailand's economy and the the fluctuating baht. The same interview can also be seen on tomorrow's Asia Business Morning from 6.30am. Throughout the week Biz Asia's anchor Lorraine Hahn will talk to other major political and economic leaders in Thailand, including finance minister Tarrin Nimmanhaeminda tomorrow, who will talk about his controversial reform laws.
