What do you do after finding success in directing the original American Pie, gaining a following after directing About a Boy, and then blowing that massive goodwill on the one-two sucker punch of Golden Compass and Twilight: New Moon? You return to the smaller, more intimate kind of story that won you acclaim in the first place.

A Better Life, which stars Demián Bichir (who played Fidel Castro in Steven Soderbergh’s Che, but is best known for his role in “Weeds”), stars as a Mexican gardener in East L.A., whose life amounts to trying to make a better one for his son by steering him clear of gangs and immigration agents. It looks like a stirring film that will probably tug on a few heartstrings and hopefully return Chris Weitz back to our good graces and move him past his brother, Paul — who most recently directed Little Fockers — on the ladder of respect.

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Dustin is the founder and co-owner of Pajiba. You may email him here, follow him on Twitter, or listen to his weekly TV podcast, Podjiba.