Son of Sofia will trigger painful memories in all of us who suffered from an abusive or violent father.
In Russia, Mischa's father has died, so he must travel to Greece to live with his mother Sofia, who hasn't told him she remarried to a much older and oppressively controlling, old fashioned man, Mr. Nikos. Ten-year-old Mischa responds badly to the situation, but I can't blame him for that.
All of the characters are acted in a manner so low key that they become very realistic. Thanasis Papageorgiou's portrayal of Mr. Nikos is superb. He's always domineering but rarely yells, limiting actual violence to one scene of relatively mild corporal punishment. But danger is always imminent, threatened by the coercive grasp of his hand behind the boy's neck or around his arm. Mercifully, the director spares us a more explicit reality. At first, Sofia and Mischa mostly keep their mouths shut, just trying to survive, and yet her fear and his rage are palpable.
I wager it would not actually have killed the director to give us five more minutes for closure at the end of the movie. But it's still a fine film. If it won't disturb you too greatly, it's worth seeing.
