Mothers come in all shapes and sizes. Mothers make us laugh, they make us cry, and with SBS’s , they’ll also keep your eye glued to the screen with one hand in the popcorn bowl.
And no, we don’t just mean biological mothers – though there are definitely some wonderful ones in this collection. We mean capital-M Mothers: women that, for better or for worse, take on the world and try to make it their own.
So, if you’re looking to get gagged, gooped or maybe just queen out, here are the most iconic films that will leave you saying "Motherrrrrr!".
The Handmaiden
This sumptuous Park Chan-wook film is set in Japanese-occupied Korea and based on Welsh writer Sarah Waters’ iconic lesbian novel Fingersmith. As well as a deeply moving depiction of queer love, this film is also a pacey – sometimes gory – psychological thriller with enough twists and turns to leave you gasping.
The TLDR is that Sook-hee (Kim Tae-ri), a Korean thief, gets into cahoots with a con-man (Ha Jung-woo), who gets her a gig as Japanese heiress Hideko’s (Kim Min-hee) maid. His cunning plan? Get Hideko to fall in love with him, steal all her money and then consign her to an asylum, with the promise of Sook-hee getting a cut of the riches. And getting Hideko to fall in love shouldn’t be too much of an ask, because she’s functionally imprisoned in the house of her awful uncle, The Count (Ha Jung-woo) and forced to perform for his frequent guests.
But an unexpected tenderness, and attraction, grows between Sook-hee and Hideko as they get to know one another. There’s more to Hideko than meets the eye though, and the potential for betrayal lurks around every corner.
Even when you don’t know who is in the right and who is in the wrong, at every moment of the film, you can’t help cheering for both women, whether they’re together or apart.
Biggest ‘Yes Queen’ moment: We won’t spoil this twist-filled film for you, but let’s just say there are multiple ‘Yes Queen’ moments throughout the course of this film.
The Handmaiden is streaming now at SBS On Demand.
Stream free On Demand
The Handmaiden
drama • romance • 2016
drama • romance • 2016
Arab Blues
A comedy drama about a Tunisian psychoanalyst who returns to Tunis after living in Paris for many years, Arab Blues explores the flood gates that open when someone is willing to really listen to you talk.
From the moment Selma (Golshifteh Farahani) arrives back in Tunis to set up her own psychoanalysis office, she’s met with detractors, from her aunt and uncle who reluctantly allow her to practice on their roof, to the bureaucratic system which stalls her. But there is a clear warmth throughout the film, from Selma’s relationships with her clients to her bond with rebellious cousin Olfa (Aisha Ben Miled). Occasionally, the conditions of Selma’s clients are played for laughs in a way that borders on dismissive. But in general, Arab Blues aptly showcases the potentially life-altering power of therapy, treating its characters with empathy and with humor.
Woven throughout the film is reference to Tunisia’s post-revolution political situation, seen in Selma’s relationship with police officer Naim (Majd Mastoura), the trauma of the clients she takes on, and most disarmingly, a scene late in the film where she visits her aging grandfather. Farahani is excellent as Selma, a woman trying to forge a path to her future within the country of her past.
Biggest ‘Yes Queen’ moment: When, despite the derision, Selma opens her office door and sees floods of people wanting to speak to her. In close second is an emotionally vulnerable moment late in the film when we finally see the gravity and weight of what she’s trying to accomplish crack Selma’s calm exterior.
Arab Blues is streaming now at SBS On Demand.
Stream free On Demand
Arab Blues
comedy • 2020
comedy • 2020
Volver
This critically acclaimed Spanish comedy-drama saw Penelope Cruz become the first Spanish woman nominated for an Oscar, for her role as Raimunda, a woman who will go to any length to protect her daughter Paula (Yohana Cobo) from harm.
This film tackles heavy subjects, most prominently death, abuse and sexual violence, but also takes great care while exploring the complexities of the relationships between women. And perhaps unexpectedly, Volver is also a ghost story: Raimunda’s mother, Irene (Carmen Maura), has apparently returned from the dead.
Directed by lauded Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar, whose films you can watch in , this atmospheric and moving film will stay with you long after the credits roll.
Biggest ‘Yes Queen’ moment: Quite simply, Penelope Cruz. Need we say more?
Volver is streaming now at SBS On Demand.
Stream free On Demand
Volver
Comedy drama • drama • 2006
Comedy drama • drama • 2006
Black Bear
A taut, gripping, psychological drama which never goes quite where you expect it to, Black Bear sees Aubrey Plaza in a standout performance as Allison, a proclaimed director who goes to a retreat run by friends-of-friends, couple Gabe (Christopher Abbott) and Blair (Sarah Gadon), who is pregnant. What follows is a sucker punch of a film, as the drama intensifies to an almost melodramatic level until an unexpected switch changes the tone completely.
Highlights include the world’s most uncomfortable, tense dinner party: beginning calmly, before erupting into an interpersonal clash with emotions boiling dangerously close to the surface.
While this film may not end where you expect it – and might leave you needing a strong cup of tea and a lie down afterwards, if not a trawl through the internet reading peoples’ analysis – it is held together by a nuanced, powerful performance by Aubrey Plaza as you’ve never seen her.
Biggest ‘Yes Queen’ moment: In the latter part of the film, we meet a gay makeup artist and a costume designer who can’t stop gossiping. They are icons.
Black Bear is streaming now at SBS On Demand.
Stream free On Demand
Black Bear
