Monsieur Hire (Cinemax Tuesday at 8:30 p.m.,...

Monsieur Hire (Cinemax Tuesday at 8:30 p.m., again Friday at 2:30 p.m.). Michel Blanc’s small, mysterious bachelor-voyeur and Sandrine Bonnaire as the sensual young woman upon whom he preys are sufficiently luminous to warrant a watch, but this 1989 French film doesn’t compare with the witty Claude Chabrol films of psychological suspense it recalls.

Sugar Cane Alley (KCET Saturday at 11:10 p.m.) Euzhan Palcy’s heartfelt, often amusing 1983 winner tells of a Martinique grandmother (Darling Legitimus) determined that her bright grandson (Garry Cadenat) will be spared a life in the sugar cane fields.

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (Cinemax Saturday at 11:30 p.m.) John McNaughton’s brutally disturbing 1987 film reveals no interest in pop-up fright but has instead pathos and a growing sense of dread. McNaughton’s intention is not to scare us but rather to horrify us profoundly by the debased quality of life around us and to suggest our own part in that debasement.