HairyLime Blog

(originally posted at a discussion board, but I learned it should have been posted here instead)

I had caught a half an hour of this film about a month ago, and thought it looked like a pretty interesting story, so I had filed it away for future reference, intending to rent it someday to watch the rest. I was tickled to receive it as my first 'spout mavens' screener last weekend. I was initially drawn to this movie by Maggie Cheung, who I had enjoyed in 'In the Mood For Love' and 'Hero' and 'Days of Being Wild', but it is really Nick Nolte, in his small but pivotal role as her dead husband's grieving but levelheaded father who really stuck a chord with me. His gruff no-nonsense but fair minded portrayal felt real and believable in a down-to-earth manner. Nick Nolte has long made a career of turning in 'better than necessary' performances in otherwise forgettable movies (North Dallas Forty, 48 Hrs, The Hulk) with occassional flirts with greatness (Affliction), and it is always nice to see his lined and weathered face and hear his gravelly voice. I was less than impressed with the remainder of the movie, however. The beginning felt awkward and contrived, especially an early scene where a bunch of peripheral characters sum up the 'backstory' for the audience, and while I really wanted to sympathize with Emily, the performance felt a bit cold and detached, and the 'backstage show biz' setting didn't help. Other than a few 'desperately searching for drugs' scenes and a couple swoons, you didn't really feel the desperate struggle she must have gone through in order to kick the habit. The best part of the movie, it turns out, I had already seen, in the final half an hour, where Emily tries to reaquaint herself with her son, and has to explain her past to him, and make a hard decision about getting her life back on track. One thing I was impressed with in this film, is the sober approach to drugs and addiction, from a user's standpoint, rather than the oversimplified reactionary 'just say no' attitude of those in the quote unquote "War on Drugs".

Last fall, we hosted a German Exchange Student in our home for two weeks. The first half of the period was extremely uncomfortable, for both us and for the student (and we're talking high school age here), both in the language and communication shortcomings, the cultural differences, and on our part, the feeling of our home being invaded by a stranger, and I'm sure on her part, the feeling of loneliness and disconnect from her own home and parents. But surprisingly, we managed to find common ground and understanding, and we were actually quite sad to see her go when her two weeks were up, having grown quite fond and used to her presence. Watching 'Mother Mine' this evening brought many of those feelings and recollections back to me as I was transported back to Sweden during WWII and the story of a small Finnish boy transplanted to a reluctant Swedish farm family, and the conflicts that arise when (eventually) the chilly reception melts and the inevitable parental bonding takes place. The Swedish 'mother' at first is quite cold and stern and we eventually find out why (although the audience figures it out almost 45 minutes before the movie eventually gets around to revealing the story behind her cold demeanor), and meanwhile, the film flashes forward to the boy as an adult wrestling with feelings of distance and coldness towards his Finnish 'birth mother' who sent him away during the war 'for his own protection'. Beautifully photographed, a bit melodramatic at times, and moves at a snails pace, but contains a swell performance by the actress who plays the Swedish 'foster mother' who has to deal with conflicting feelings towards this displaced child, and towards the mother who willingly gave him away, and eventually will want him back. Could have been a bit more moving and involving than it proved to be. I was reminded of other 'war through the eyes of childhood' movies that I have seen, some by directors reminiscing through rose colored glasses (Woody Allen's 'Radio Days' comes to mind, and John Boorman's wonderful 'Hope and Glory') or the more realistic approach of films like Speilberg's 'Empire of the Sun', or 'Diary of Anne Frank', or the surrealistic approach of 'The Tin Drum' or the recent 'Pan's Labyrinth' or even the strange mix of humor and horror of 'Life is Beautiful'. War in 'Mother of Mine' seems to occupy the margins at best, and seems more concerned with the interpersonal relationships of mother and son, which is fine, but rather diminishes the scope of the film, and the possibilities it might have explored.

Caught this one the other night, and was surprised to find myself actually enjoying it. Not a big fan of Woody Harrelson, but he manages to squeak out a sympathetic portrayal of this unlikely champion of Free Speech. Some interesting cameos, like Clinton's Campain Manager James Carville as a lawyer for the prosecution in an early smut case (and Larry Flynt himself as the judge in one of the worst acting cameos I've ever seen), and Edward Norton excellent as usual as Flynt's long suffering attorney who finally gets to present a case in front of the Supreme Court.