David O'ConnellMother of Mine (2005)
July 17th 2008 03:13
It’s war torn Finland during WWII with the Russians invading and children are being sent by relief organizations to families in neighbouring Sweden. This simple but tender, beautifully crafted story is about the journey of one boy in particular, Eero Lahti (Topi Majaniemi), an only son, who is taken in by the Jonsson’s, Hjalmar and Signe, after his own mother reluctantly gives him up. Eero’s father had earlier gone away to fight for his country but was killed in battle.
The Jonsson’s have a tragic story of their own, having lost their only child, a 6 year old daughter, two years previous in a drowning incident. Signe (Maria Lundqvist) is still battling her demons and sense of guilt from the past and though she agrees to take in a Finnish child she is resentful when she sees Eero for the first time, hoping for a girl to fill the void in some way for her loss.
Eero senses this resentment and he and Signe are at odds for a long time; he doesn’t want to be with a Swedish family, away from his mother, learning a new language, and it’s a difficult adjustment period. He gets along much better with Signe’s husband Hjalmar (Michael Nykvist) at first.
Gradually however Eero and Signe begin to understand one another, and with their shared past of loss, they become closer, especially after one of Signe’s regular letters from Eero’s mother in Helsinki pleading with her to look after her son on a more permanent basis because she has fallen in love with a German man and expects to travel away with him.
The bond between Eero and these two women, both his ‘mothers’ at one time, is what lies at the heart of the story. Who’s really responsible for the raising of this boy and whose emotional bonds are the strongest when adversity must be faced during times of war?
The whole film is a nostalgic reflection, interspersed with black and white snippets in the present as a 60 year old Eero tells his aged mother of the true story behind his time in Sweden where he has just returned from again to attend the funeral of Signe.
There is such tenderness in the way this film unfolds, it’s lovingly told with many beautiful, poetic moments. Klaus Haro’s direction is languid and contemplative which gives the story time to breath and build up emotional resonance.
The Swedish countryside is beautifully photographed by cinematographer Jarkko T. Laine, and the score by Tuomas Kantelinen is just sublime, a truly haunting composition which compliments the poetry of the images perfectly.
I admired this film a lot, isolating as it does one fictional thread from the tragically true stories of over 70,000 Finnish children who were necessarily relocated during the war to neutral Sweden.
Majaniemi is exceptional as the young Eero with a very expressive range beyond his years, and he’s more than matched by the brilliant Lundqvist as the tortured Signe whose depths are revealed as their bond develops and grows; hers is a really formidable performance.
This is obviously a film few people here will see but it’s currently screening on World Movies and is definitely worth a look if you come across it by chance. I found it genuinely moving.
The Jonsson’s have a tragic story of their own, having lost their only child, a 6 year old daughter, two years previous in a drowning incident. Signe (Maria Lundqvist) is still battling her demons and sense of guilt from the past and though she agrees to take in a Finnish child she is resentful when she sees Eero for the first time, hoping for a girl to fill the void in some way for her loss.
Eero senses this resentment and he and Signe are at odds for a long time; he doesn’t want to be with a Swedish family, away from his mother, learning a new language, and it’s a difficult adjustment period. He gets along much better with Signe’s husband Hjalmar (Michael Nykvist) at first.
Gradually however Eero and Signe begin to understand one another, and with their shared past of loss, they become closer, especially after one of Signe’s regular letters from Eero’s mother in Helsinki pleading with her to look after her son on a more permanent basis because she has fallen in love with a German man and expects to travel away with him.
Eero, played by Topi Majaniemi
The bond between Eero and these two women, both his ‘mothers’ at one time, is what lies at the heart of the story. Who’s really responsible for the raising of this boy and whose emotional bonds are the strongest when adversity must be faced during times of war?
The whole film is a nostalgic reflection, interspersed with black and white snippets in the present as a 60 year old Eero tells his aged mother of the true story behind his time in Sweden where he has just returned from again to attend the funeral of Signe.
There is such tenderness in the way this film unfolds, it’s lovingly told with many beautiful, poetic moments. Klaus Haro’s direction is languid and contemplative which gives the story time to breath and build up emotional resonance.
The Swedish countryside is beautifully photographed by cinematographer Jarkko T. Laine, and the score by Tuomas Kantelinen is just sublime, a truly haunting composition which compliments the poetry of the images perfectly.
Eero and Signe receive another letter from Eero's mother
I admired this film a lot, isolating as it does one fictional thread from the tragically true stories of over 70,000 Finnish children who were necessarily relocated during the war to neutral Sweden.
Majaniemi is exceptional as the young Eero with a very expressive range beyond his years, and he’s more than matched by the brilliant Lundqvist as the tortured Signe whose depths are revealed as their bond develops and grows; hers is a really formidable performance.
This is obviously a film few people here will see but it’s currently screening on World Movies and is definitely worth a look if you come across it by chance. I found it genuinely moving.
Eero gets to know Hjalmar after first moving to Sweden
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