Cert 12A
93 mins
BBFC advice: Contains moderate sex, violence and one use of strong language
I sought it here, I sought it there but I couldn't find Kuma anywhere except in London.
And then I alighted upon Curzon On Demand, the service from Curzon Cinemas which charges an eyebrow-raising £10 for recently released movies.
On the one hand a tenner is cheap if it saves me a trip to London and an entrance fee which can run up to £15 in the smoke.
However, Curzon need to make sure that the service is a little more stable.
I suspect that could only be achieved if it allowed proper downloads in the way that itunes does. As it happens, it streams movies and that means they often stick.
This was the case with Kuma and, although it didn't ruin what was an excellent movie, it certainly didn't help its flow.
Would I have increased its mark from 9/10 to 10/10 if I had seen it on the big screen? Maybe but I will never know.
Anyway, I am hoping more have the chance to see it because it is a cracker.
Umut Dag's movie stars Begum Akkaya as a girl from the Turkish countryside who, in its opening scenes, marries a lad (Murathan Muslu) whose family live in Vienna.
However, it immediately becomes clear that the wedding is a cover for the fact that she is becoming his father's second wife.
The scenario has been cooked up by the lad's mother (Nihal G Koldas) who is suffering from cancer and believes she is going to die.
Much to the horror of her older children, she thinks that the new girl will be equipped to look after the family.
This she would have to do in a foreign land where she has no idea about the customs or language.
The scenario is original and thought-provoking and its ramifications are carried off with sublime direction and some terrific acting.
Akkaya is superb as the naive young lass who starts to have thoughts of her own and Koldas is equally good as the mother who is vulnerable and yet wily.
Kuma summed up why I love world cinema. It immerses me in foreign cultures and leaves me feeling richer for it.
Laughs: none
Jumps: none
Vomit: off screen
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 9/10