Äideistä parhain

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!

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.

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.

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.

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!