 |  | by BBC South Yorkshire
contributor Rory Dollard | |
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If you're looking for a great night out and you want change from a fiver then the Showroom cinema should be one of your very first ports of call. I was unsure quite what to expect - never having been to see a foreign or arthouse film before. My chosen title was 'The Son of the Bride' or, to give it its original name, 'Il Hoja de la Novia'. It could be total fluke but what unfolded in this low-key Argentinean yarn was quite the best piece of cinema I have seen in many months.  | | Will your film come with subtitles? |
This was in spite of, or perhaps more accurately because of, the fact that it was so far removed from any Hollywood funded mega-bucks set piece that it was hardly recognisable as the same medium. No car chase, no pyrotechnics and no delete-as-applicable star (think Vin Diesel/ Ben Affleck/ Leonardo DiCaprio). Instead 'The Son of the Bride' was a moving, thought provoking and at times uncontrollably funny portrayal of one man's attempt to reconcile a life of family, business and tiramisu. The subtitles are not the problem many believe them to be, especially for a generation brought up on Star Wars and Jabba the Hut; in fact they were barely noticeable after five minutes.  It was so far removed from Hollywood that it was hardly recognisable as the same medium.  | - Rory Dollard |
Doubtless not all alternative films can be of this calibre but for a couple of quid it is certainly worth the gamble. It is really refreshing to see a film driven by human interest and not by product placement, merchandising deals or the open-ended possibility of prequels/ sequels. If you catch a good one you will be heartened not only by the quality of the piece itself but also by the idea that there is life beyond The Matrix and Keanu Reeves. And if you catch a duff one, then at least you can always sound mysterious and vaguely intellectual at dinner parties... Got a favourite activity or pastime that costs less than a tenner? Tell us about it! | 
