THE holiday movie season is in full swing, with big-budget, hoped-for blockbusters competing with smaller scale hoped-for Oscar contenders . . . and slipping into the mix on Friday, December 7 is an Irish film called Strength and Honour.

Starring Hollywood vets Michael Madsen, Richard Chamberlain and Patrick Bergin, in addition to former English football star Vinnie Jones, the film had its world premiere this week at the Cork Opera House, and all the aforementioned stars were on hand for the occasion.

The film was written and directed by Cork native Mark Mahon, so it's no surprise that the Rebel County was chosen for the big debut.

The film tells the story of a Cork-born boxer, played by Madsen, who retires from the sport after he kills a friend in a bout, and promises his wife he'll never box again.

He returns to the squared circle, though, after his son is diagnosed with a hereditary illness that eventually claims the life of his beloved missus. The match is necessary to raise funds for his son's life-saving surgery.

This one sounds like a real tear-jerker along the lines of the seventies classic The Champ. Madsen, for his part, was happy to be a part of the project.

"I rarely get screenplays where the lead character is not evil. I had voice coaches (to master the Irish accent) but I think I learned more from people in pubs in Cork," he said. A good way to master the local technique for sure!

Though the film won't go into wide U.S. release, given the glut of Oscar contenders vying for theater space at this time of year, Strength and Honour could be a contender nonetheless. It's already scooped the best movie award at the Boston Film Festival earlier this year, and Madsen was named best actor.