Mother of Mine
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.