Having slagged off this week's big theatrical release - Hot Tub Time Machine - in last week's column, it should come as no surprise that I'm not about to recommend you go check it out now that it's actually hitting screens. But that doesn't mean that your only option is to curl up with a DVD this weekend. Nope. There's still good stuff to be had on the big screen. If you're into the animated stuff - which I am - then How To Train Your Dragon looks awfully solid, though I'll personally be holding off until I can take the boy with me. No, for quality film, turn to the little guys this week. Specifically, turn to Bong Joon-Ho's Mother.
When people talk about Korean film these days it tends to be Park Chan-Wook - director of the incendiary OldBoy - but in my book, as good as he is, Park ranks only third in talent from the nation. Above him is The Good, The Bad And The Weird director Kim Ji-Woon, while trumping both is Bong Joon-Ho.
Last time out, Bong hit screens with The Host, a big budget creature feature that went on to become Korea's top grossing film of all time - by a handy margin - while also sweeping up film awards around the globe. The Host is a big film, and a fantastic one, and this time out Bong wanted to do something smaller. It ended up being no less fantastic.
A compact thriller with one of the most unusual heroes you'll ever see, Mother premiered in Cannes before sweeping up acclaim at home, being nominated for a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar and -- just a couple days ago -- winning Best Feature at the pan-continental Asian Film Awards. What's it about? A frumpy, well-past middle age working class woman - exactly the sort of woman you'd overlook on the street - trying to prove that her mentally disabled son is not guilty of the murder the police have rung him up for. It's exactly the sort of film that Hollywood has refused to make since the 1970's, the sort of film that revels in its anti-star power, and one that is fantastically well written and beautifully performed. It's tight, tense stuff, a film that relies on good acting and an intelligent audience willing to think a little bit to achieve its goals. It's also got a marketing budget large enough to fetch a cup of coffee or two and will almost certainly disappear from screens fast. Don't miss it before it goes.