Tarkovsky's "The Sacrifice" on British TV tonight

This Bafta award-winning drama is set on the cusp of World War III. Middle-aged actor-turned-critic Alexander lives in a beautiful house by the shore of a Swedish island with his wife Adelaide, her grown daughter Marta and his and Adelaide's young son. It's his birthday, so the family and their friends, including the postman Otto and the doctor Victor, have gathered to celebrate. But the festivities are rudely interrupted by the thunderous roar of low-flying military aircraft, just as the radio announces the outbreak of a nuclear war. Instantly rediscovering his lapsed faith, Alexander offers all that's dear to him to God, if He can prevent the imminent holocaust. Hearing Alexander's plea, Otto - a devotee of the supernatural - offers the critic an alternative means by which he might avert the apocalypse.