Mother of Mine (Äideistä Parhain)

Warning. You need to be strong to watch this movie.

“Huh. Why would I need to be strong to watch a movie? Do you think I’m a wimp?”

You may be a tough guy (or girl) but trust me when I tell you that this powerful, beautiful, moving film is a tearjerker.  I’ll forever remember it as the movie that made me weep uncontrollably on the train.

Yes, I cried in public, tears streaming down my face and black mascara staining my cheeks. I cried several times throughout the movie, even when it was over and the credits rolled.

Coming home from a weekend getaway to Montreal, I passed the long 5 hour ride by watching Mother of Mine, a Finnish and Swedish movie directed by Klaus Haro.

During World War II, after Russia invaded Finland, in an act of humanitarian aid, neutral Sweden agreed to accept Finnish children into the country. Initially, about 8000 children were sent to Sweden with their mothers. As the war raged on, even more children were sent to live in the homes of Swedish families, but without their mothers or fathers. All told, about 70,000 children were sent away.

Finnish Children Boarding A Train En Route to Sweden

Director Klaus Härö talked about how he wanted to highlight the collective experience of the displaced children,  “Through the fictive framework we can however capture something universal in the feelings of exclusion and rootlessness that we associate with the experiences of the war children. The themes are strongly relevant to any child who has been separated from his/her parents, to anyone for whom growing up has generally been hard due to the secrets they carry in their heart.”

He goes on to say “Mother of Mine is pure character drama.”  Watching the story play out is both heart breaking and joyful with moments of great sadness being assuaged by moments of happiness and love.  The performances delivered by the cast were exceptional, with Maria Lundqvist (who played Signe) being absolutely flawless.

The film is also visually stunning. Says Sheri Linden of The Hollywood Performer, “The contrast between Finland’s frigid birch forests and the open expanse of the Swedish coast, captured in Jarkko T. Laine’s striking camerawork, is a key element of the film’s quiet power”.

Eero And His Mother Kirsti

Eero With His Swedish Family

You won’t regret watching Mother of Mine. Just be sure to be armed with a box of tissues.

Synopsis from Film Movement:

During World War II, more than 70,000 Finnish children were evacuated to neutral Sweden to avoid the conflict. “Mother of Mine,” the latest from the award-winning Klaus Haro (“Elina”), tackles that painful patch of history in a tale of 9-year-old Eero, a child who increasingly feels abandoned by his biological Finnish mother and yet not attached to his Swedish surrogate mom. When he is returned to Finland, his confusion intensifies.

Trailer:

Reviews:

1. Film Movement – http://www.filmmovement.com/downloads/press/Mother_of_Mine_Press_Kit%281%29.pdf
2. IMDB - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0343221/
3. Rotten Tomatoes – http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mother_of_mine-2005/

Do you like this blog? You can subscribe to receive emails whenever new content is added.

About The Author:  A Canadian freelance writer and travel blogger based in Berlin, Cheryl writes all about European travel and expat life. Filled with wanderlust, her nomadic heart and soul has taken her to over 22 countries throughout North/South America, the Caribbean and Europe. Unable to sit still for long, she's always planning her next trip.