Mother of Mine (2005) User Reviews

English Name: Mother of Mine. A Very Special Movie

[Jamester · 9/10 · 16 September 2005]

I saw this at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival today to a sell-out crowd with a very engaging Finnish director, Klaus Härö present. This film had real heart and honesty. It can and should be appreciated both in and outside of Scandanavia.

The film highlights a significant event in Finnish history -- that during WWII, around 70,000 Finnish children were sent to Sweden among other countries to be temporarily hosted as their real parents stayed in Finland to continue in the war. The story is made accessible and immediate by taking us through the experiences of one child -- Eero (Topi Majaniemi) -- who as a 9-year old boy is dealing with language differences, a desire to return home, and a host family that can provide materially, but maybe not in the non-material ways that Eero really needs.

That the film stays true to the viewpoints and desires of the child really makes this movie work. From the opening sequences, the warring environment was clear. As the movie continued, the sense of the unknown, a certain amount of foreboding and the ever-present desire to connect with family was also subtly introduced to give a very full sense of the conflict within this child's mind. The soundtrack nicely complemented everything the movie was going for.

This is a great total package with a movie that is assured, concise and crafted from a very fine director. This film gets my recommendation. Moreover, I'm very much looking forward to seeing the next film from this decidedly capable director!

Brilliant!

[pwbognar-1 · 9/10 · 5 February 2006]

I saw this film at the Toronto International Film Festival in September '05, near the end of the festival. By that time, I have seen enough, and I am quite critical: I will walk out on films (I almost never do that!), or resent a mediocre film for wasting my precious TIFF time.

Not this film. I can't think of a reason why I shouldn't give this beautiful film a 10. It had me literally from the opening shot, right through to the credits. When I see a film like this, it makes me wonder what American film makers are doing, offering rehashes of stuff we saw thirty years ago (think Batman, Star Wars, even King Kong).

Here is a wonderful story, gut wrenching at times, painful to see, but compelling. Maria Lundqvist as Signe is amazing to watch, as is Topi Majaniemi as Eero. Michael Nyqvist (Hjalmer) is sublime in the supporting role.

Beautiful cinematography, fabulous acting, a great thought provoking story. What more could you ask for at the cinema?

My final comment on "Mother of Mine:" Find a way to see this film.

Beautiful!!

[imdbfriend · 9/10 · 12 November 2007]

This movie is amazing as it is simply beautiful. Never a movie I have seen with such a delicate subject made into big screen so beautifully. Its a story of a kid who has to leave his mother to be safe from bombing and gets into another country to other parents who lost their child in some accident. The kids longing for his own mother and in time love for his new mother is depicted amazingly by the child, he is absolutely brilliant kid actor. Also brilliant acting by both the women in the central character's and also the kid's new father is superb in his role. The movie shows how the war has affected everyone using a simple story yet based on some true events of evacuating kids to a safer land, removing them from their birth parents. Its a very touching movie. I am actually beginning to love foreign language movies for their excellent depiction of human nature in a very caring and sensitive ways.

Truly Moving picture

[tollini · 10/10 · 21 September 2006]

I am a judge for the Indianapolis-based Heartland Film Festival. This feature film is a Crystal Heart Award Winner and is eligible to be the Grand Prize Winner in October of 2006. The Heartland Film Festival is a non-profit organization that honors Truly Moving Pictures. A Truly Moving Picture "…explores the human journey by artistically expressing hope and respect for the positive values of life."

During World War II, the powerful Russians invaded small Finland. The Finns resisted mightily. But, many Finn parents were afraid for their children's safety and 70,000 were sent to Sweden for their own safety.

Eero, a 9 year old Finn boy, was one of these children who was sent away to neutral Sweden after his father-soldier was killed in battle. His natural mother did this with much love and sorrow. Eero was her only child and the reason for her existence. Eero does not want to go, and he misses his father.

When Eero arrives in Sweden, he is assigned to a foster home on a farm in a very remote region. The new foster-father is loving and nurturing, but the new foster-mother is cold and bitter because she recently lost her only child, a daughter, in an accident. But slowly Eero is accepted by the foster-mother too, and Eero feels loved and secure and happy, and actually stops missing his natural mother.

Then, Eero's natural mother asks for his return.

Eero, as an older man looks back at his childhood, sometimes tragic and sometimes wonderful, and tries to make sense of it.

The viewer is struck by the great sacrifices the two mothers made for Eero. Mothers are vital to their children because they will always personally care for them. But in extreme circumstances, sometimes letting them go can be just as vital. But certainly it's much harder.

This film has wonderful acting, directing and cinematography. The bleakness of the Swedish landscape and the simple, dignified lifestyle of the people are brilliantly displayed.

FYI – There is a Truly Moving Pictures web site where there is a listing of past Crystal Heart Award winners as well as other Truly Moving Picture Award winners that are now either at the theater or available on video.

Fresh take on WWII Coming of Age theme

[kenneth-pavia · 10/10 · 12 September 2006]

I liked this movie for several reasons: 1. It differs from other similarly-themed movies by focusing on the one "war child" (Eero) and his relationship with the two mothers in his life. That was fresh for me.

2. Great cinematography! Many beautiful shots of the Swedish countryside and other nicely-framed shots. One that impressed me was the shot of Eero sitting inside the concrete bunker with the sea and sky in the window next to his head. This movie is worth it just for the camera work.

3. Great acting by all of the actors.

4. Excellent story/plot that kept moving at a good pace.

The one negative comment I would make is regarding Eero's young female peer. She tries to be his friend, but he ignores her and their friendship is never developed, so I wondered what was the use of her character, since she had such a minor role. Maybe it ended up on the cutting room floor?

All in all, I highly recommend this movie.

Powerful, touching and affecting

[Gordon-11 · 8 August 2007]

This film is about a Finnish boy who got sent to Sweden during the Finish-Russian War in 1939.

The film is very powerful, touching and affecting. There are so many memorable scenes where nothing is said, and yet they convey a thousand words. An example is that Eero's mother seeing a priest coming to their house. The despair and hopelessness is portrayed so vividly, and yet not one word is said. Maria Lundqvist deserves particular recognition for her acting skills. She plays every emotion very naturally. From the initial rejection and disgust to the eventual love and trust, these emotions are all so natural and real. Another point that deserves mention is that the present days are in black and white while the past is in colour. Such an arrangement is not so usual, and yet suits this film well. The soundtrack is very good, it really captivates and enhances the mood and emotions of the scenes.

The plot is particularly touching, especially when one is reminded of the fact that 80,000 children had a similar fate during the war. I am glad to have a chance to watch this film, and I urge others to watch this too!

Excellent in some regards, paper thin in others

[henben · 6/10 · 1 November 2005]

I sat down in the salon, at the grand opening in Sweden, not knowing a thing about this movie. It wasn't until one of the movies producers told us, the audience, what it was about that I realized what kind of movie I was about to see and - most important - that this is a story that had not yet been told on the big screen and that this was a story that needed to be told. I couldn't agree more, it's just a shame that this was the particular story that they chose to tell.

Parts of this movie is absolutely brilliant - the scenery, the cinematography and the actors. Oh, the actors! Michael Nyqvist, Maria Lundqvist and the young Topi Majaniemi are superb, utterly superb, it's in the script this movie fails and mainly on one pivotal point. In order for this movie to work you have to feel the anguish of young Eero, you have to feel his heart breaking when his mother sends him away to Sweden. And you do. But you also have to feel his heart breaking when he is sent back to Finland. This you don't do and that's because you don't get to feel the connection between Eero and his foster-mother Signe. When Eero and Signe first meet she doesn't want anything to do with him. She alienates herself from him, pushes him away. Towards the end she shows genuine love towards him, the thing is...I'm not aware of when this shift occurs. There aren't enough scenes in which we see them bonding. Suddenly they just...do. And this is where the movie fails.

Now, please remember what I said earlier. There are many things about this movie that are superb. The main thing being how the part of Eero is written and portrayed. A lot of films have a tendency to make children more mature than they really are, this movie doesn't make that mistake. Eero is a child and acts like one too. Not knowing why he feels the way he does he simply acts out his frustration in ways that a child would - not by sitting his foster-mother down and offering up wisdom befitting a 70-year old (which is all too common in movies such as these).

So, worth watching, just don't expect to get a wholly encompassing movie about what all Finnish war-children went through.

Amazing lucid revelation of complex humanities

[researchingmedia · 10/10 · 7 March 2006]

Haven't been so totally blown away by a movie for quite a while - it's rare in Hong Kong that all the 5 audience in the cinema all ended up soaking in tears - if that didn't tell you enough about the movie..

There were movies, like the Dutch movie Simon, that tried to capture the subtle dynamics among fathers and sons, or the Canadian one, Barbarian Invasion. This movie, however, has yet overrode those movies by its subtle but yet delicately constructed interplay among father, mother and the son. More so it touched so much upon young man's hope and tie with the mother. Just when you think that was the whole thing about the movie (i.e. mother and son, anti-war wake-up call), the movie got brilliantly galvanized by the two women in how they dealt with themselves and the motherhood, and what they wanted, adding a potent twist to the narrative as well as gently tweaking the emotions of the audience.

For such a long time there was no movies that was able to employ such a basic and simple setting but yet so able to capture the multi-faceted humanities in such an embedded, compiling way.

Highly recommend this movie.

Are you my mother?

[MHforNF · 7/10 · 18 May 2010]

Äideistä Parhain is a satisfying film that almost (but not quite) avoids the saccharine pitfalls that accompany mixing children, war and melodrama. It focuses on an event that, surprisingly, has been untapped as the subject for a feature film, the world's largest evacuation of children from a war zone. During World War II, over 70,000 Finnish children were taken away from their homes and families and were relocated to Sweden, to be watched over by adoptive families for the duration of the war. The protagonist of Äideistä Parhain is a young boy named Eero who, after his father is killed, is sent away by his grief stricken mother for his own protection. His adoptive Swedish family proves enigmatic however, as the father is welcoming and accommodating while his new mother, Signe, is mysteriously cold and aloof. The film is framed by an aging adult Eero confronting his birth mother and reconciling abandonment and identity issues that have plagued him as a result of his childhood experiences. The film, though straightforward on surface, subtextually deals with the importance of communication and the effects of war on children; not to mention the beautiful photography that evocatively uses light that contrast emotion with landscape.

The dramatic core of Äideistä Parhain lies in its character's struggles with both verbal and emotional communication. As a child unexpectedly transposed into a new country, Eero's difficulties are compounded by his inability to speak Swedish (at first he can only speak a single phrase consisting of his name and country of origin). The language barrier alienates Eero from his new Swedish family and neighbors; enhancing his feelings of isolation and preventing him from forming strong emotional bonds. As a child in his formative years, his identity is being shaped as that of an outsider (the result of which can be seen in the frame story; more on that later). This divide is naturally symbolized in the auxiliary language Eero eventually comes to speak, Finlandssvenska. This hybrid dialogue between Swedish and Finnish speaks (sorry) to Eero as a child torn not only between two cultures but his two mothers as well. In this regard, Topi Majaniemi as Eero gives a fantastic and naturalistic performance that perfectly captures the difficulties of a displaced and vulnerable child. Though Eero eventually picks up the language, he still has trouble emotionally connecting and communicating with Signe who does everything in her power to shut him out.

Initially, Signe is peculiarly cold and distant when confronted with Eero. Beyond being unable to communicate with him, he easily frustrates her and she goes out of her way to avoid dealing with him. This disaffection climaxes when she attempts to get Eero taken back by the rescue agency (only to change her mind). None too subtle hints are dropped throughout the film as to a past tragedy which is eventually revealed to be the loss of her daughter at six years old. Not wanting to grow attached to, and then lose another child; the emotional distance she puts between her and Eero is exposed to be a selfish defense mechanism. When Signe is finally able to accept him, the shift is too sudden to have much of an impact, rendering much of the third act's dramaturgy less effectual than it is intended to be.

The director Klaus Härö and his cinematographer Jarkko Laine use color and light to expressionistically convey character's inner states and the gamut of emotions they undergo. Early scene of Eero with his mother and father living happily together are filmed in the warm glow of a magic hour sunset which gives way to cold, gray light after Eero's father dies, highlighting their isolation and loneliness. Finland's gray, forested landscape is replaced with the sunny, bucolic hills of Sweden, reflecting the safety and freedom that Sweden offers. However, the interiors of the farmhouse, Signe's domain, are initially dark are cramped: growing lighter only when she is able to accept Eero and move beyond her tragic past. Finally, Eero's return to Finland is filmed during a sunset/rise; aesthetically bookending the film and suggesting the premature end of Eero's childhood.

In an unusual reversal, the present day scenes of an adult Eero and his elderly mother are in black and white, in contrast to the vibrant color of the events of his past; suggesting that the proceedings being portrayed had a profoundly negative effect on his life. It's evident in these scenes that Eero has had a poor relationship with his mother who is stoically unsympathetic. His recounting of his childhood thus becomes a way for him to move on with his life and find closure with his mother.

Though Äideistä Parhain does occasionally turn manipulative and cloying (the stroke victim grandfather saying "don't go" stands out) it is, nevertheless, a compelling exploration of the effects of war on children. It moves at a good pace, has gorgeous, expressionistic cinematography, and is elevated further by a great cast who all turn in excellent performances. Most importantly, the film conveys the message that war, beyond the deaths, tragically scars all involved.

It gathers all the ingredients that make you want to flood your eyes off

[zoppi14 · 10/10 · 30 October 2005]

If not the best, surely one of the best movies ever made. During the second world war a boy is being evacuated from Finland to Sweden and back to Finland. I won't tell you anything more about the plot, go and see this movie. Smart story, great acting, the whole thing is an excellent package. It is a Finnish nominee for foreign Oscar in the US and for reason. Lately there have been some great movies coming from Finland, Koirankynnen leikkaaja (Dog Nail Clipper) and Mies vailla menneisyyttä (The Man Without a Past) to mention. Äideistä parhain belongs to this category of Finnish masterpieces. This movie makes you think what is important in life. It feels like it makes world a better place. Indeed.

One son. Two mothers.

[Atreyu_II · 7/10 · 29 September 2011]

I don't know a word of finnish, but with this movie I learned two words: "Äideistä parhain" ("Mother of Mine"). Whenever the boy calls for his mother he says "äiti" (or is it "äidi"?). Then "parhain" means "of mine". Perhaps "Äideistä" means "mothers" (in the plural)? Now, my summary says «One son. Two mothers». That's exactly what I mean. One son because the boy is an only child. Two mothers because there are two in fact: the biological and the foster. That's exactly the point. Despite being "another" Holocaust movie, it doesn't focus so much on the World War II but more in such things as what it's like to be in and out of family.

The boy, Eero, is orphan of father but has his life with his mother. In 1943, his mother sends him to Sweden as a refugee. History tells that more than 70.000 finnish children were sent to Sweden as refugees during that time.

Eero doesn't understand why his mother is abandoning him. He feels bad in a country he doesn't know, with a language he doesn't talk, with people he is unfamiliar with and his anger makes him cold and hostile. Even the "new mother" doesn't want him and is very hard and bitter on him. Eventually things change, even if just because circumstances leave them with no choice. Upon his real mother's return when the war is over, Eero wants to stay with the foster mother.

A reasonable movie, if flawed. It's a little boring and not very involving, although it does capture the attention until the ending. I don't like certain things, such as the "present-day" parts. For some reason, I just don't like that in movies. To compensate, the story is decent (although with margin for improvement), the cinematography is typically nordic, the actors are talented and the atmosphere is faithful to reality.

This film deserves every award it can ever get!

[andhol-1 · 10/10 · 16 September 2006]

I used to think that it's silly to cry over something like a movie and that it's only girls that do so - until now. I felt like being torn apart when realizing the pain Signe felt when she realized that there was nothing in the world she could do to keep Eero.

It was beautiful to see the development of the bond between Signe and Eero, and it made the outcome so hard to bear. It was easy to understand how deep wounds were left in the souls of the Finnish children that were sent to "safety" in Sweden during WWII.

This is a film everybody should see. It shows a depth I have NEVER seen on the movie screen.

Thank you Klaus Haro!

The mother and the whore

[fablesofthereconstru-1 · 3/10 · 23 August 2008]

A mother and her young son emerge from their house for the last time as a family made temporary by an interrupting war. The thin trunks of topless trees can't camouflage the old man in black whose convergence with the woman and the boy is halted by the next anxious moment. The bible should be a dead giveaway to this apprehensive encounter, but the priest removes his hat before he gets any closer, just so there's no confusion about the meaning of their meeting. Before long, Eero(Topi Majaniemi) and his mother(Marjaana Maijala) are told by some grim women that they'll have to separate. And so it is, the church's will, that Eero finds himself on a crowded boat with other fatherless Finnish children, en route to Sweden where he'll live with a Swedish family until the war is over.

"Aideista parhain" is about the unexamined feelings between Eero and his mother Kirsti during the period of their severed existences, in which both parties are forced to revisit when the former "war child" returns to Sweden for the funeral of his foster mother, breaking the complicit silence they maintained throughout the intervening decades. Told in flashback, this black and white film switches to color, as if the past is more vivid to Eero than the present.

By boat, by train, and then by bus, the boy whose father was killed by Russians, meets his new guardians on an unpaved road; Hjalma(Michael Nyqvist) and Signe(Maria Lundqvist) Jonsson, one of many Swedish couples who provided shelter and sustenance to over seventy-thousand Finnish children affected by the war. While the farmer seems accommodating enough, Signe is hostile and sometimes downright odious towards Eero from the outset, walking ahead of her husband and charge with a head full of steam, back to their house on a farm. Since we recognize that "Aideista parhain" aspires to be an epic cut from the same cloth as American epics about life during wartime, we're not fooled by Signe's distaste for the "strange" Finnish boy with his strange Finnish ways. Panorama after panorama of sumptuous Swedish scenery makes it clear that "Aideista parhain" is governed by the same parameters as a mainstream studio movie from Hollywood. Signe may shout, or even hit Eero, but she's not going to stab him with a kitchen knife, nor will the boy, like a boy from some Patrick McCabe adaptation. The movie's soundtrack is so sentimental, so heavily laden with strings to overemphasize every moment of incident with its crescending bulge, it takes away the possibility of the unexpected, because "Aideista parhain" is essentially a European version of a prestige film meant to secure multiple Oscar nominations.

But when Signe's moment of transformation arrives, the emergence of the nurturing mother beneath that gruff exterior we predicted all along seems entirely arbitrary, as is her epiphany about Eero's sudden lovability. In the last scene, Signe chastises the boy for stealing money and running away. She calls social services to send the boy back home. But when the administrative woman suggests that Eero would be sent to a children's home, Signe has a change of heart, but the audience will be hard-pressed to allocate that change of heart's origin. Thin air, that's where she got it. His impending departure should be cause for celebration after her constant ill-mannered behavior towards the boy. There's not enough smoke and mirror-magic from the screenplay to obscure the paradigm.

After "Aideista parhain" is through with casting Signe as the villain, we learn that Eero's mother abandoned him in favor of a German soldier. The film would be riveting if we, along with Eero, had a harder time deciding between both mothers when it's time for his return to Finland. "Aideista parhain" decides for us. Of course, we're more sympathetic towards Signe's claim, after all, his birth mother is f****** a soldier affiliated with the Nazi party. While Eero functions as a replacement for Signe's dead little girl(who drowned under her care), the mother uses her son as a preventive measure against a heartbreak of the romantic sort(or so it seems).

"Aideista Parhain" gets even more manipulative after the old man learns belatedly about his mother's intentions in a letter written by Signe. It's a far-fetched notion that Eero never broached the subject with Kirsti in all those years, because if he felt like a consolation prize to a German, logic dictates that he'd return to Sweden and seek the real love of a devoted mother. "Aideista Parhain" is unmistakably misogynistic; it gets off on reducing an old woman to tears, then tries to have it both ways by redeeming her. But it's too late. The audience will feel jerked around after investing our allegiance with Signe.

"Aideista parhain" casts Signe and Kirsti as the mother and the whore, then lacks the conviction to let the sow be a sow.

Very, very good film

[johno-21 · 9/10 · 1 February 2006]

I saw this at the 2006 Palm Springs International Film Festival and of the 35 films I saw there this one was my #1. The audiences at the festival seemed to agree in that it won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature. Actually it tied with the film Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont for the award in a rare first place tie. I was hoping this would gain a nomination for Best Foreign Language film at the Academy Awards but it's submission didn't make the final five. Director Klaus Härö, Producer Ilkka Matila and Music Score Composer Tuomas Kantelinen were on hand to present the film and take Q & A after. I was happy that they brought with them the guy who scored the music soundtrack because the music was a perfect fit for this film. Topi Majaniemi as Eero is charming and Michael Nyqvist as Hjalmer Jönsson is excellent but Maria Lundqvist as Signe Jönsson is superb and really carries this film. This is a very, very good film and I would rate it a 9.0 and highly recommend it.

Sincere drama

[ejs-80 · 8/10 · 13 November 2006]

"Mother of Mine" tells a story about nine-year-old Eero (Topi Majaniemi) who is one of the war children who were sent from Finland to Sweden in order to escape the war against USSR. It is a very hearty film, and especially at the beginning, when the ruthlessness of the war begins to show its ugly head, it contains downright heartbreaking material.

On the other hand, those parts where grown-up Eero (played by Esko Salminen) converses about the past with his mother feel a bit too much like commentaries, and they might have benefited from a little more liveliness. On the first viewing I thought also that Eero's relationship with the foster mother Signe (Maria Lundqvist) doesn't ever really open and warm up like the narration implies later. However, on the second viewing I noticed that the scene in the graveyard is honestly trying to deal with this point. So that part of the theme is not completely left undeveloped.

Michael Nyqvist as Hjalmar Jönsson does a pretty good job, but one of the best virtues of the film is the fact that director Klaus Härö has been able to cultivate an extremely believable Eero-boy from young Topi Majaniemi. Praises also belong to the numerous incredibly beautiful scenes, of which one of the finest is a shot where a bus comes from the left side of the panorama picture and continues its drive to a stop in the middle of desolation with Eero as its only passenger traveling towards his new home.

In short, "Mother of Mine" is a recommendable movie for everyone who considers him-/herself to be a friend of honest and straightforward drama. See it by yourself or show it to the mother of yours.

A film to live. sorry , watch!

[vinnvinn88 · 10/10 · 26 January 2013]

Those two hours didn't feel like watching a film. I literally lived. I have seen this kind of film before, Artificial Intelligence. Same genre. But it must have consumed less budget and it is 10 times touching than AI. If i were to Rate AI and this one this is my verdict AI:MoM - 8.0:10:0.

There is also a growing concern that movies like this are not coming these days or overshadowed by junk films. Kudos to the team.

The boy is actually not showing much emotions but that is what the story needs. Signe has done the good part. Her emotions were real. Her character shows what womankind is - lovely and loving!!!

Exquisite tale from WW2

[rven3 · 9 November 2011]

Having only just finished watching this film, I can say that I consider it to be the most emotionally authentic story I have viewed in a very long time. This is a truly beautiful film, and I was not in any way distracted by having to follow the story by reading sub-titles. All actors are to be commended for their performances, but special mention must go to child actor Topi Majaniemi for an outstanding performance as Eero, the child who is sent by his Finnish mother to Sweden for the remainder of the war. He is in almost every scene - a big ask for a child - and he never ever wavers; I hope we see more of him in the future.

As well as Majaniemi, special mention also must go to Maria Lundqvist, who played the child's troubled foster mother, and also Michael Nyqvist (who can do no wrong IMO) as the kindly, but often out-of-his-depth foster father, and the one to first befriend Eero in his foreign environment. All three actors give such realistic performances that I kept forgetting that I was watching a work of fiction, albeit based upon true stories. I felt that I was being allowed into this private world of these people trying to find their way through a situation none of them asked for, and so I had better be quiet and respectful.

And this is beautiful to watch, set chiefly in coastal rural Sweden, complete with rolling green hills and white-washed buildings. Cinematography and Direction of this film as so flawless as to be invisible; the film just flows gently, but is never ever boring.

Just one piece of advice........have some tissues handy, as it is an emotional journey, but without any of the emotional manipulation found in many English-speaking movies.

I give it 12 stars!

A Masterpiece On What It Really Means To Have Family

[thompsoe · 8/10 · 11 May 2010]

Could you ever part with your child due to war? How would you maintain a sense of hope? Klaus Haro's film, Mother Of Mine, depicts an honest and heart wrenching portrayal of the separation of families in Finland during WWII when over 70,000 children were evacuated to neighboring neutral Sweden. For one family, young Eero, played by Topi Majaniemi, is separated from his mother Kirsti, played by Marjaana Maijala, soon after the death of his father and placed with a rural family in Sweden. The host couple, Signe and Hjalmar, played by Maria Lundqvist and Michael Nyqvist, is unprepared for Eero as Signe was secretly hoping to host a young girl, as their daughter drowned only two years before. As Eero misses his mother in Finland, he bonds quickly with Hjalmar much to the immediate dismay of Signe. However, when Eero's mother's situation in Finland suddenly changes, Signe is asked to raise Eero as her own son, prompting a heart rendering attachment that is too good to last.

One of the key themes throughout the film is the fluidity and construction of family. Initially, the audience witness Eero's family as three: father, mother, and son. Quickly after the war enters Finland however, Eero's father leaves to join the military and dies in combat. Eero's mother, Kirsti, heartbroken and distraught, then has to abandon her only son and stay alone in Finland. Within the first 20 minutes of the film viewers watch Eero's family shatter into fragmented pieces. When Eero arrives in Sweden he is given a "host mother and father" who act as replacements for the parents he left back home. Eero bonds more quickly with Hjalmar as his father has passed and Hjalmar effectively takes on that fatherly role. Signe, however, remains distant as she mourns the loss of her child and in effect, so does Eero as he still has a mother back in Finland. Over time, Eero loses contact with his birth mother and begins to let Signe into his life and she ultimately does the same. Soon, Eero interacts with Hjalmar and Signe as his parents and they treat him as their son. Family roles become fluid for both parties and the construction of family changes for each party as they need it to.

Another unique theme to this film in particular is the dynamic role of language and with it, communication. Mother Of Mine is an example of a film co-production as both Finnish and Swedish languages are utilized. While this draws in a wider Nordic audience, it creates an initial barrier between the characters, as they cannot communicate with each other very effectively. Hjalmar is open to learning Finnish and attempts to memorize Finnish words in the government language book provided, but Signe insists that since Eero is in Finland, he must speak Finnish. By forcing Eero to learn Finnish, Signe puts up a language barrier between the two of them so that she does not have to communicate with Eero as she still mourns the loss of her daughter. When she is ready to accept Eero into her life as her own child, the language barrier between them is broken and she helps instead of criticizing him in his language skills.

A final theme centers on the loss of loved ones, most importantly family members. As stated previously, Eero lost his father in the war and Signe and Hjalmar's daughter drowned. Both parties are hesitant to let someone new into those previously lost family roles, but as their relationships develop all three experience what it means to love again. For Eero and Signe, this mother-son relationship becomes a permanent attachment despite some 60 years apart. Later in life Eero tells his birth mother, Kirsti, that she stopped being his mother as soon as he returned to Finland as Signe had taken over that role. It is only upon reflection many years later at Signe's funeral that Eero realizes his love for both his mothers, despite his loss of each one of them at one point.

Haro has created a masterpiece with Mother Of Mine and viewers will not be disappointed. Not only is the cinematography stunning, but the soft musical tones and panoramic silences transport audiences back in time. Maria Lundqvist gives an incredible performance as Signe and I hope to see young Topi Majaniemi's face in many future Finnish films. Audiences worldwide will experience true emotion with this film and find connections with it that will tug at one's heartstrings. American cinema has a thing or two to learn from this work of art and I look forward to watching more Haro films in the future.

Love and Loss

[zep719 · 8/10 · 19 May 2010]

In this moving Swedish and Finnish co-production, director Klaus Härö uses a historical glimpse of the Nordic countries to examine aspects of the human condition. Härö addresses the nature of loss as well as the meaning of family. "Mother of Mine" is the tale of a young boy, Eero (Topi Majaniemi), one of more than 70,000 war children displaced from Finland in World War II and relocated in neutral Sweden. Following the death of Eero's father in the war, Eero's mother, Kirsti (Marjaana Maijala), is severely grief stricken and chooses to send Eero to live with a family in rural Sweden. Eero's foster parents, Signe (Maria Lundqvist) and Hjalmar (Michael Nyqvist) expect to adopt a young girl and are thus surprised when he arrives. Hjalmar welcomes Eero warmly and is able to form a strong relationship with the boy. Signe, however, is unexpectedly cold and short-tempered to her new foster child. As Eero overcomes the difficulties of assimilating in this new environment, the reason for Signe's bitterness is made clear, and the relationship between Eero and his foster mother begins to grow.

The nature of loss is addressed in a rather broad manner in "Mother of Mine." Characters in this film experience both the loss of life and the temporary loss of connection to a loved one. The first significant instance of loss is the death of Eero's father. This has a devastating impact on Kirsti, who is overwhelmed with severe depression. While the characters' reactions to this loss suggests Kirsti is most heavily affected, the young Eero is stricken by the recurring element of broken promises, which accompanies loss in this film. Eero's father promises that he will return soon and everything will be as it was, which is shattered early in the film. Shortly after, loss is experienced in another form, as Kirsti sends her only child away to Sweden. During their farewells, Kirsti echos her husband's promise to Eero, saying they will be together soon and everything will be as it was. Eero, recognizing the similarity to his father's promise, is unwilling to blatantly accept and is faced with the loss of his only remaining family member. In Sweden, Signe's past is plagued by the death of her six year old daughter. In addition to grief, Signe's loss is accompanied by guilt for her lack of attentiveness that led to her daughter's drowning. Signe also experiences the loss of Eero, a child she has come to know as her own. Eero is once again left with a broken promise; Signe states Eero and her will never be separated. Härö presents loss and its impacts in a number of forms in "Mother of Mine". In doing so, Härö includes a Christian theme as an explanation for loss, the Lord gives and the Lord takes away, which Signe shares with Eero as she explains the reason for death and loss. This Christian perspective of loss is a rather distinct element of the film.

A unique set of film techniques is used within "Mother of Mine" to contribute to the pathos and focus of the film. Music plays an integral role in "Mother of Mine." Tones within the film are emphasized by the score, which is often in a minor key. In addition, a handful of slow motion scenes are used to heighten the intensity of critical scenes, including the scene in which Eero is forced to leave Hjalmar and Signe in Sweden. The use of color in the portrayal of Eero's childhood and monochrome for the latter stages of Eero's life emphasizes the importance of the events of his childhood in relation to his adult life. Subtle techniques such as these contribute very heavily to the overall quality and effect of the film.

Härö provides a very interesting examination of the nature of family in "Mother of Mine." The film begins with a breakdown of a family unit following the death of Eero's father. Eero is separated from his mother and introduced into a new family, in which he becomes a fundamental part of. As Eero's relationship with Signe grows, his ties to Kirsti begin to unwind. The weakening relationship between Eero and his mother is a result of his perception of her actions; Eero associates his mother's choice to send and keep him in Sweden with abandonment. It is only after many years that Eero realizes his mother's intentions reflect her love her son. Härö's use of this complex structure of relationships supports a broad definition of family that is not limited to blood ties, even if those ties remain a part of one's life. That being said, this film demonstrates the equal love for a son, by two independent mothers, and the difficulties in choosing what is best for him.

"Mother of Mine" is powerful and emotional film that displays distinct elements of human nature in a factual and unique historical context. In this film, Härö provides a Christian, but universal perspective of loss and examines the love present in uncommon relationships. The result is a work of art that goes beyond the traditional bounds of cinema.

Film review

[ticko07 · 9/10 · 18 May 2010]

The film Mother of Mine was a very emotional film about a young boy named Eero who is forced to leave Finland and travel to Sweden where he lives with a foster family until the war was over. This film incorporated a common Nordic film theme of a love triangle, however, this time it was between two mothers and Eero. Personally, I thought the director, Klaus Haro, did an amazing job of utilizing certain filming techniques in order to make some of the heartbreaking scenes feel much more dramatic. I also thought that the plot was excellent and kept the viewer guessing as to what Eero would have in store for him in every coming day.

This movie takes place during World War II where thousands of Finnish children were evacuated from Finland to Sweden in attempt to avoid the bombing and raids. Kirsti and Eero have to deal with the unfortunate news of her husband and his father dying in battle, which Kirsti does not cope with all too well. Kirsti then decides that after losing her husband that she could not deal with losing her son as well so she decides to send him off to a foster family in Finland. After finally arriving at his foster home in Sweden, he is not accepted right away at all by Signe due to the fact that she was expecting a young girl. Throughout the movie, we begin to see emotional connections being made between Eero and Hjalmar, Signe's husband, which leads to the eventual bonding between Signe and Eero as well. As the movie progresses, Signe begins to accept Eero as one of her own and even refers to him as her child. This occurs right after Signe reveals to Eero that she had a 6 year old daughter who drowned to death two years prior to him coming to their house. As viewers we now watch a strong relationship develop between the Jonsson's and Eero, which makes us become emotional as we anticipate a letter coming in the mail from Kirsti requesting the return of Eero back to Finland. In the end, Eero is forced to leave the Jonsson's and travel back to Sweden and meet up with his mother, which was very painful for Eero as he had developed a strong relationship with the Jonsson's. The final scene of the movie ends with Eero as an adult who visits the grave of Signe because he never had the guts to leave Kirsti again and see Signe of whom he loved so much.

As a viewer, I found this film to be very emotional and frustrating to watch because Eero never really had a chance to settle down and find his true family. Its one thing to have to leave your own country and travel to another of which you cant speak the language, but to have to leave your mom behind, or in this case your last family member, would make the experience much more difficult. On top of that he then had to learn Swedish and cope with a foster mother who at the beginning of their relationship was extremely bitter and harsh towards him. Once he began to get to know the family, he then had to try and fit in at school and learn how to help out at the farm, all while receiving letters from his mother saying that it would be longer until he could come back. What made me cry is when he found out his mom left him for a German soldier, which led him to become fully attached to the Jonsson family, which ended up hurting him as he received a letter later on saying that his mom separated from the soldier and demanded he be sent back to Finland. Between the confusion and unsettledness of Eero, we the viewers become very sad for Eero as we watched his heart being broken several times throughout the movie.

As far as how the movie was shot, I felt that the slow motion scenes when Eero originally leaves Kirsti and then again when he has to leave the Jonsson residence makes the viewer much more emotional as we realize that Eero is yet again being torn from loved ones. I really felt a part of the scene when Signe could not watch Eero be dragged into the car and then she chased him down the road. I thought the acting was phenomenal in that scene and I really began to feel for not only Eero but the Jonsson family as well. Another technique I noticed throughout the movie was the sharpness of the sound. I could here when the cast gulped and many other subtle noises throughout the movie could be heard crystal clear. This made me feel like I was actually watching the film live and helped me become much more attached to the characters as well.

In conclusion, I thought that the film was a 9-10 stars and I would without a doubt recommend it to anyone interested in watching a foreign film. As I mentioned before, I thought the plot was very well thought out and made the viewers feel extremely connected to the characters, of who all acted wonderfully throughout the entire film. All in all, I would not mind watching this film for a second or third time in the future and am very happy that I had the opportunity to view it.

Excellent!!!

[yossarian100 · 10/10 · 8 December 2008]

Klaus Härö has done two films that I've seen, MOTHER OF MINE and ELINA, which are two of my all time favorite movies, and the only other director who has done that is Akira Kurosawa.

Few directors are able to show us the unimaginable sense of loss children can sometimes feel the way Klaus Härö can, and do it in such a compelling, honest, and beautiful way.

Utilizing great camera work, a stunningly talented group of actors, and a rock solid screenplay, he goes about painting a portrait so real it broke my heart.

Almost anyone can put together a list of 'must see' movies, but, as far as I'm concerned, MOTHER OF MINE and ELINA should appear on a 'movies to see before you die' list. They are both THAT good.

This is film-making at its finest!!!